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Most of us experience it at one time or another.

Driving down the road, listening to the radio, trying to get to work — and a car comes out of nowhere and crashes into your vehicle.

Hopefully, it’s not a bad crash and nobody is injured or trapped. You file a police report, exchange insurance information and spend the rest of the day dreading the hours you will spend getting estimates for the repairs on your car.

But what if you are injured or trapped in your vehicle? It’s easy to panic and many people aren’t sure exactly what to do in that situation.

On June 20, The Daily Times had the privilege of participating in a Blount County disaster drill. I was “trapped” in a vehicle, which was supposed to be a make-believe plane, after a mock crash at Heritage High School.

I volunteered to participate, thinking it would be fun playing a “damsel in distress” to help local emergency personnel practice for the real deal.

In two cars, there are four people. The “pilot,” also known as Blount County Fire Capt. Jim Patty, is in the first car (or front of the plane). I am in the second car playing the part of the “flight attendant,” along with two “flight passengers,” Jama and Michael Tiller. Other make-believe occupants had been ejected from the plane and were dead on arrival of emergency personnel.

My injury is a “shattered chest.” Ouch! Due to my injury, I have shallow breathing and am barely hanging in there. Jama has head injuries with “raccoon eyes” — a symptom of serious head trauma. Michael has the worst (or worst looking) injury of all — impalement. To make the scene come to life, he had somehow created a contraption of poles protruding from his chest.

Cut out for this

And it begins.

Michael is in the front seat of our car (er, plane), and the firefighters decide he needs to come out first due to the severity of his injuries. Jama and I wait (kind of) patiently in the back seat.

Firefighters lean in the car talking to us and ask us if we are OK. While gasping, I pat my chest, alerting them to my chest injury. Jama is talking crazy (must be the head injury) and starts calling the firefighters “Grandma.” Funny girl.

Now here’s the part that I wasn’t expecting. They rip the entire car apart — while I am still inside it. Firefighters cover our heads and bodies with blankets, and windows begin breaking all around us.

I can hear a grinding, cutting noise right next to my elbow, which makes me a little nervous. A little more sunshine gradually peeks under the edge of the blanket covering my head, which lets me know that more and more of the car’s roof is disappearing.

By this time, Michael and Jama have been extricated and Jama is walking around mumbling something about her missing baby. Firefighters ignore her ranting at first, but quickly realize they should start looking for a baby just in case. They later find the baby (doll), who is suffering from thermal burns, in a car seat in nearby bushes.

A firefighter places his hands on each side of my head, stabilizing me as other firefighters continue cutting around me. Mostly, it just sounds scary. Add in some real injuries, and it would be a lot scarier.

Thank you, nurse

Finally, I am rescued. They take me to a critical care area where I await transport to Blount Memorial Hospital. Michael’s injuries turn out to be fatal, but Jama and I are taken by Rural/Metro Ambulance Service to the hospital. There we are greeted by emergency room nurses and doctors who act quickly to (pretend to) save our lives.

My nurse saves my life! Thank you, nurse. The baby (doll) lives, as well. Jama, on the other hand — not so lucky. I’m sure someone will adopt her baby (doll) soon.
So what did I learn? First things first, I learned I was not meant to be an actress. I think I giggled a little too much for a flight attendant who was supposed to have a shattered chest.

Above all, I learned that it’s important to stay calm and communicate, if possible, in an emergency situation. Communication is key for victims and rescuers alike.

As a victim in an accident, it is important to communicate any injuries or concerns to first responders immediately. I also learned the importance of emergency personnel communicating with the victim. It calmed my nerves to know what the firefighters were doing when my head was covered. It helped (a little) to know when they were going to break out a window next to my head.

Our local firefighters, police officers, Rural/Metro personnel, rescue squad volunteers and hospital staff did an excellent job of communicating with the victims. Firefighters also did an amazing job of working quickly, yet safely, to make sure we were out of harm’s way. Thank you to all of our local emergency services workers for what you do.