DEPUTIES’ QUICK ACTIONS SAVE A CHILD On Thursday, September 4th, the Rockbridge Regional Public Safety Communications Center received a 911 call from a family that was traveling through Rockbridge County on Interstate 81. The family members spoke very little English, but dispatchers were able to determine that a child in their vehicle was being strangled by a seatbelt that had got wrapped around his neck and had locked in positon. The family was unable to provide dispatchers with their exact location. Fire, rescue, and deputies were dispatched to the interstate in an attempt to locate and assist this family with their emergency. The family made repeated contact with 911 and continued to give different mile markers as their location. With each call the family became more panicked and reported that the child was getting trapped tighter in the seatbelt and was turning blue as he continued to struggle to get loose. While emergency services were searching for the family, the Rockbridge Regional Public Safety Communications Center applied their capabilities and were able to utilize the cellular network to obtain a more exact location of the family. Captain Larry Conner and Lieutenant Steve Funkhouser located the family first, just north of the southbound Fairfield exit. The deputies found the child had turned blue and was still trapped in the seatbelt. Lieutenant Funkhouser very quickly used his pocket knife to cut the seatbelt and freed the child. The child immediately got his color back and was able to breathe freely. The child did have some minor abrasions on his neck, but recovered on scene and did not need to go to the hospital. Due to Central Dispatch’s, Captain Conner’s and Lieutenant Funkhouser’s rapid response efforts in locating the family and their quick critical problem solving abilities the child was rescued efficiently and without the need of further medical treatment.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:30:00 +0000
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