Oct 1, 2008 8:26 am US/Eastern
Medical Choppers Resume Flights
DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. (WJZ/AP) ―
Authorities say Maryland State Police medevac operations began resuming flights Tuesday night
Four people died; one teenage girl survived. Now there are questions about the choice to use Medevac. Mary Bubala has more.
Four people died in the medevac crash last weekend, but did they need to even be in the helicopter in the first place? One expert is saying not necessarily.
When a car crash put two teenage girls in the hands of emergency response workers, the decision to use the state police helicopter ended tragically. Our newspaper partner, the Baltimore Sun, has learned that medevac may have been unnecessary.
Paramedic reports say the girls had chest, neck and back pain. One had a large bruise below her ribs. Dr. Robert Bass of Maryland's emergency response coordinating body says those injuries "in and of themselves would not have been indicators to take to a trauma center."
Still, EMTs were not wrong to transport the two girls by helicopter. The decision fits within national guidelines. They say a helicopter can be used if a mechanism of the scene suggests at 20% chance of internal injuries.
Thirty-one people have died in helicopter crashes in the last 12 months, including one in Texas in February, another in Wisconsin in May and last month in Indiana.
Investigators do not yet know the cause of Maryland's most deadly helicopter crash.
"There's additional risk when you're flying at night, when you're flying in weather, when a terrain is challenging. We want all operators to take all of these issues into consideration," said National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman.
"If there's anything we can learn from this in order to do a better job and make sure we maintain these aircraft at the highest level, we will do that," said Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley.
One victim, 17-year-old Ashley Younger, called her mom after the car crash.
"It's like I keep hearing her say, `Mom, it's going to be okay. It's okay,'" said Stephanie Younger, Ashley's mother.
But then an attempt to treat her ended up killing her.
"She really was a good girl. She was excited about life and college and just everything," Younger said.
Officials say this tragedy should prompt a closer look at guidelines for launching any medevac flight with patients.
Funeral services have been announced for two state police officers who were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
The funeral for Trooper First Class Mickey Lippy, the flight paramedic, will take place Friday at 11 a.m. at the Gamber & Community Fire Company Station 13, 3838 Niner Road in Gamber. Burial will follow at Dulaney Memorial Gardens in Timonium.
Services for pilot Stephen Bunker will be conducted Saturday at 11 a.m. at South Potomac Church, 4915 Crain Highway, White Plains. Burial will be at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
