CHENNAI: Nothing in this world prepares you for an accident. You watch it on TV, read about it, discuss everything related to it like first aid, crisis management, safety features etc. But nothing prepares you for the sound of two bikes crashing into each other, the sight of blood that never stops flowing and the public that watches on with morbid curiosity. Something similar to this happened to me on May 4 at Vavin signal near Ambattur Industrial Estate.
I was driving back from work around 10.30 pm, when a guy on a bike overtook me. He wasn’t wearing a helmet. I learned later on that his name was Sampson. Less than a minute later, I heard a crash. Two bikes had a head-on collision.
I ran to the scene and saw Sampson had hit his head on the tar road. After convulsions for a few seconds, he became unconscious. The other guy had also fallen on his face but thanks to his helmet, he suffered minor bruises. He was writhing in pain but conscious enough to see me. I tried to lift him but couldn’t. I looked around for help and when I didn’t find anyone, I screamed. People rushed from a nearby temple and lifted him. They made him sit up and gave him water. It was 10.35 pm.
Two minutes later, I called 108 – the emergency contact number. I gave the accident details to the operator who said she would call back in a few minutes.
Sampson was still unconscious and bleeding profusely. A huge crowd had gathered and a couple of people tried to lift him. I told them he had head injury and that he should not be moved.
At 10.40 pm, I got a call from 108 telling me that no ambulances were available as they were tied up with emergency cases in Padi, Ambattur, Aynavaram, Anna Nagar and a couple of other places around Ambattur Industrial Estate. She suggested that I try a private service. I was stunned but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
I immediately called 9841011767, the ambulance service number of a hospital in East Mogappair. It was switched off. I tried 1066 and gave the operator the accident details. As soon as I gave my number, the line got disconnected.
I called again but couldn’t get through. I tried once more and someone answered the call. When I told the person I need ambulance service, she told me to call after 10 minutes and hung up. It was 10.48 pm.
During my frantic efforts to get an ambulance, I saw three policemen arrive in a Bolero. They began asking the crowd about the accident. Somewhere in between all this chaos, I took Sampson’s cell phone from his trouser pocket. A look at his last dialed calls revealed that he had called his father as the number said Dad.
As I was calling Dad, someone grabbed the phone from my hand and gave it to one of the policemen. The cop began his conversation with Sampson’s father by saying “Your son has had a road accident. I don’t know whether he is dead or alive.” Is that the way you break the news to a parent of an accident victim? How can anybody be so insensitive? I was too stunned to react for a few seconds.
The cop then wanted to call an ambulance.
I gave him the information I received from 108 and requested him to take Sampson to a nearby hospital in their Bolero. He refused point blank and said the victim can be taken in an auto. I told him if Sampson were moved in anything other than a stretcher, it could cost his life.
He brushed aside my views and with the help of a few people, carried Sampson to a nearby auto and made him sit. It was 10.55 pm.
The moment Sampson was upright, blood started gushing from his ear. I tried to stop it with a small hand towel but in vain. Within a few seconds, the towel was soaked with blood and running down my arms. I screamed for someone to fold his legs so that he could lie down. After he was lying down, I offered to go with him in the auto. The policeman refused my help. He said “it would complicate things for me later.” Somebody else accompanied him and he was finally taken to the Sundaram Medical Foundation at Shanti Colony, Anna Nagar. I advised the policeman and the person accompanying Sampson to tell the duty-doctor that Sampson had seizures before he became unconscious. It was 11pm.
I reached home and called the hospital.
Thankfully Sampson’s cousin had arrived. He told me Sampson has suffered blood loss due to a cracked skull. He was being taken for CT scan. When I told him about the seizures, he was surprised because the persons who deposited him at the hospital had not shared the information with the doctor. I told him to call me if he needed help.
Sampson was later shifted to the government hospital. He had blood clots in his brain and multiple bruises on his face and hands. He was engaged to be married a few weeks ago and all set to go to Singapore soon.
Free ambulance turns out to be a ‘paid’ service
Lecherous medic, poor hospital facilities
