HARGETT’S CROSSROADS — It was a drug deal gone wrong. The scene on Pikesville Road was chaotic as emergency crews rushed to save lives after a wreck, collect the evidence and nab a sniper shooting from the woods behind the cemetery.
It was a mock emergency scene held Saturday around the area of Whaley Cemetery.
The disaster simulation was initiated by Lisa Stewart, an emergency medical science teacher at Lenoir Community College, Jones campus.
“We’re trying to make it as realistic as possible,” she said Friday.
On Saturday, many of the emergency responders and all of the students were unaware of what kind of situation they would be facing — just like in real life.
Within a couple of minutes after a call came over the radio from dispatch that there was a wreck on Pikeville Road, a Hargett’s Crossroads fire truck and rescue truck and Jones County EMS pulled up to the scene.
Two wrecked cars were on the shoulder of the road — an SUV with four injured people, including a girl who was screaming, and a car with two injuries and two fatalities. Blood was splashed on the car’s back passenger window.
Suddenly, gunshots were heard in the woods behind the cemetery, and backup was called. Three EMS responders and a firefighter were hit. When law enforcement and other emergency responders showed up, the road was blocked and armed deputies made their way towards the woods.
“Get on the ground,” an officer commanded his team as he approached where the sniper was hiding. “Hold your fire.” The sniper had been involved in a drug deal with the individuals in the two vehicles.
Once the area was secure, the LCC-Jones students were grappling with assessing the injuries of 11 people.
In the chaos, they forgot about making sure the evidence, drugs inside the vehicles, wasn’t disturbed. They also realized they didn’t have enough stretchers for all the injured people.
Stewart asked the students to prioritize what they needed to do.
“They’re doing pretty good,” Connie Simmons, an EMT-basic from Wyse Fork EMS, said. “They’re students, so they’re learning.”
What they are particularly learning is to assess the patients, tend to their injuries and stay with them, while communicating with the person in charge of triage, Simmons said.
“They get so much experience in this that it gets ingrained in the head,” Carrol Tyndall, Jones County’s Emergency Management coordinator, said.
Capt. Justin Eimer of the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, said this is the first time the department has done a mock incident since Sheriff Danny Heath took office in 2010.
“It gives us an opportunity to work together,” he said, “and that’s something the sheriff is big on.”
He said the communication lines are more open between departments and surrounding counties since 2010.
The various aspects of the mock incident, except the sniper, are what the emergency responders have come across in Jones County, he said.
Lt. Ryan Jones of Hargett’s Crossroads, a firefighter and EMT-intermediate, said the students learn how to separate patients based on the severity of their injuries.
Dennis King, Hargett’s deputy chief, said firefighters handle medical calls, as well as wrecks and fires.
“If we feel like it’s not safe for us,” he said, “we’re going to call law enforcement.”
Following the setup incident, all the departments in training assess how they did and how they could improve their response.
Stewart said the coordinated effort couldn’t have been accomplished without all the county’s volunteers. She also commended her students.
“They did a phenomenal job,” she said, “… They worked through the chaos.”
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.