Crash on the 405
As Roy pulled onto the 405 freeway from the on ramp he looked over at his partner who was leaning toward the dashboard, his head cocked to the side.
"Johnny, what are you doing?"
"Shh."
"Excuse me?"
"Roy quiet. I just want to make sure that noise is gone."
"Of course it's gone. Charlie wouldn't have given the squad back otherwise."
Johnny leaned back, his brow still wrinkled in concern. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Johnny rested an elbow on the passenger side door and studied the traffic. Suddenly, he sat forward again. "Roy!" he shouted, pointing ahead of them as they came around a bend in the freeway.
"I see it," Roy exclaimed as he watched in horror as an old dilapidated dump truck swerved to avoid a car changing lanes. The wood and concrete load it was carrying tumbled out of the back as the rusty gate let go. "Hang on!" Roy shouted over to Johnny the cars behind the dump truck collided with the debris in the freeway. The sounds of screeching tires and metal against metal could be heard as one after another vehicle crashed into the cars that had been struck by the falling debris.
Johnny braced his hands on the dash as Roy cut the wheel sharply to the left. They inwardly cringed at the sound of skidding wheels behind them but luckily no car hit them and the pile up had ended.
"I'll get the gear," Johnny said, his face grim as he surveyed the scene in front of him.
"I'll start with that green sedan closest to the front," Roy jumped out of the cab of the squad and froze in horror as an 18-wheeler came around the bend heading straight at them. "Johnny! Look out!" Roy managed to yell before his eyes locked with the driver of the semi. Roy saw the realization dawn on the man's face just before he dove onto the shoulder of the road, desperately hoping Johnny had heard his warning and was able to get out of the path of the huge truck. He landed with a thud on the gravel on the side of the road, instinctively covering his head despite having his helmet on. The noise of the semi hitting the already crippled vehicles in the road was sickening. The image of Johnny being caught in the carnage flicked through Roy's mind before he quashed it and forced himself to remain calm. As soon as he thought it safe, Roy uncovered his head and flipped over to see the damage. The front cars closest to the dump truck now were piled up on top of each other like children's toys. The 18-wheeler had jackknifed but thankfully did not flip. Roy glanced over at the squad and saw that it too had been struck and pushed out of the road so that it was only a few feet from where Roy was laying. He jumped up and ran to the other side of the squad and scanned the road for his partner. He looked to see if the gear had been taken from the compartments which might mean Johnny hadn't gotten out of the way in time. The force of the impact of the semi caused the compartments to fly open, gear littering the roadway. Maybe he heard me and jumped out of the way, Roy thought. He wanted to run to the opposite side of the road to look for Johnny but he knew his first duty was to the victims in the cars.
Roy, jumped into the open passenger side door of the squad and picked up the mic. "LA, this is Squad 51. We have a multiple vehicle crash on Route 405 north between exits 33 and 34. Suspect heavy casualties."
10-4, Squad 51.
Roy dropped the mic as he heard the tones sound and Sam Lanier called out the cavalry. He waded through the boxes and was thankful to find the trauma box in one piece. He picked it up along with the biophone and ran up the road. He heard moans and crying of victims in the cars closest to him. His mind whirled as he tried to figure out who to help first. He approached the pile of twisted vehicles at the front of the accident scene. The green sedan he had spotted earlier was now on its side and underneath a silver Cadillac which teetered precariously. Roy circled to the trunk of the vehicle and peered through the cracked back window. He could just make out the driver, now out of her seat and sprawled partially on the ceiling and side door. She wasn't moving. Roy couldn't be sure anyone else was in the car and didn't dare approach as the Cadillac shift and swayed.
"Help. Help me," a weak voice floated down from the car above him. Roy looked up and saw an older man looking down at him.
"Sir, don't move. I'm with the fire department. I want you to stay where you are. Do you understand?"
"Please, get me down from here."
"I will. Help is coming. Are you hurt?"
"I…I'm not sure. Please let me out." The man's head disappeared back into the car and it bucked as he moved around.
"Sir! Don't move. Help is on the way. You will injure yourself and others more if you move around. Do you understand?" Roy tried to keep his voice calm and steady in order to get his message across to the man.
"Please, hurry." The reply was barely a whisper and Roy's heart jumped. Where the hell is my backup? Just as the thought went through his mind, Roy could hear the sounds of sirens approaching. He let out a sigh of relief as he moved to another vehicle. His eyes scanned the roadway, hoping to spot Johnny's black helmet.
"Johnny?" Roy called out as he moved to the other side of the sedan and Cadillac. He didn't wait for an answer and didn't hear one. "Hello, fire department. Can you hear me?" Roy approached a small pickup truck. The driver lay motionless, his head flopped awarkwardly to the side, his eyes open and unseeing. Roy pulled on the door handle but it was too mangled. He reached through the broken door window to feel for a pulse but found none. Reaching across the man, Roy picked up a jacket and laid it over the man's face.
"Help me. Anyone? Help!" A woman's voice came from a blue car wedged between the front of the pickup and another car that was on its roof.
"I'm coming!" Roy said, as he pushed the pickup door closed and picked up the trauma box and biocom.
"Roy?"
Roy spun around "Johnny?!"
Roy kept looking behind but forced himself to continue on to the woman in the car. Johnny's voice sounded shaky. Where was he?
Roy knelt down next to the woman in the blue car. "I'm Roy DeSoto. I'm here to help you." Roy glanced nervously toward the sound of Johnny's voice but forced himself to focus on his patient.
"My legs," the woman mumbled weakly. Roy looked down and saw her legs were tangled under the crushed dashboard.
"Don't try to move. We're going to get you out." Roy looked back at the sound of the multiple engines and trucks approaching. Another pulled up on the southbound side of the highway. He pulled some gauze out of the trauma box to apply to the woman's bleeding forehead when he spotted Johnny stumbling toward him. "Johnny! Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. What can I do to help?"
As Johnny knelt down near him, Roy could see the slightly dazed look in his partner's eyes. Roy looked back at the woman as he taped the gauze above her eye. "You're not all right," he said quietly, directing it at Johnny. "What happened?"
"I'm fine," Johnny said. He pulled some supplies from the box and stood up slowly.
Roy watched him move away as he established a link with Rampart about his victim. He was thankful Johnny was alive but would have to worry about how he really was doing later. He spotted the helmet of Station 110's captain. "Cap! I'm going to need the jaws of life here. Also there is an elderly victim in the Cadillac but the car needs to be secured. There is also a victim in the green sedan beneath it. That's all I know for now."
Captain Rubin jogged up to him. "Thanks, Roy. We've got two more squads here so stay with this victim. My men are helping anyone capable of walking over to the shoulder." The captain motioned to the right. "Gage is over there assessing them."
"Oh and Cap," Roy said quietly just as the captain turned away. "We have a Code F in the pickup." He motioned with his head at the truck.
Captain Rubin nodded solemnly. "That's two. Let's hope there aren't anymore." He turned away and called to his men. "Let's get an inch and half and hose down the roadway, Ken. We don't need any more problems today. Mitchell, get some lines. We need to keep that Caddy from rocking and get the victim out."
Roy saw the Battalion Chief arrive and Captain Rubin headed over to speak to him. Roy moved aside as one of 110's men came to extricate the trapped woman. He gave an update to Rampart with her vitals.
On the other side of the roadway, Johnny quickly assessed each person that came to him. Vince Howard approached him. "Whataya got, Johnny?"
Johnny dispensed with pleasantries and got right down to business. "Vince, all these people are not seriously injured. Can you just stay with them? That first ambulance will take Roy's victim and the driver of the semi who is conscious but has a bad head wound."
"Got it. I'll stay with them," Vince replied.
"Thanks," Johnny said as he jogged away. He saw Roy climbing into the ambulance behind his victim. Their eyes locked for a second before the doors closed.
Johnny met up with Captain Rubin as his crew finished securing the Cadillac. "Gage, I think I saw the woman in the sedan move. The back window has been removed. Do you think you can climb in there?"
"I'm on it, Cap." Johnny looked down at his hands. "Oh, Cap. I only have one glove, mine was lost when the semi came through."
Captain Rubin removed his own gloves and handed them to Johnny. "Take these. We can't waste any time."
Johnny nodded soberly as he pulled on the gloves. He approached the green sedan as Mitchell laid an asbestos blanket over the edge of the back window. "Thanks, Mitch."
"Be careful, Johnny. I've got our squad's gear nearby. Just let me know what you need."
Johnny shimmied through the small opening into the back seat of the sedan then righted himself inside the car. "Ma'am. Ma'am, can you hear me? I'm here to help." Johnny only got a weak moan in response. He carefully palpated her limbs. "Mitch, her right arm is broken. Pass me a splint, a bp cuff and a stethoscope and get Rampart on the horn."
Mitchell passed the items through the window as the car shifted slightly. "They just got the driver of the Caddy up top out. Things should quiet down now."
"Thanks, man. How is he?" Johnny reached across the woman and applied the bp cuff.
"Looks like he's just banged up."
After getting the woman's vitals, Johnny relayed them to Mitchell as he splinted the woman's arm then applied a bandage to a nasty laceration on her cheek.
"I'm not going to be able to establish an IV in here. We need to get her out. I need a neck brace and a short board, fast."
~ E ~
Across town, Roy came out of the treatment room where he had brought his victim. Dixie was standing outside the base station making notes on a chart. Roy looked up and down the hallway then crossed over to the head nurse.
"Dix, have you heard anything from Johnny at the crash site?"
"Sorry, no. It's been crazy here. Dr. Morton was just in there but I don't know who he was speaking to."
"Yeah, that's okay. Johnny's probably on his way in with another patient. Look, I'm heading back to the scene with Squad 45."
Dixie looked confused. "Wait, where's your squad?"
Roy waved back at her as he rushed to meet up with 45's paramedics. "Don't ask."
Roy jogged over to the shoulder once they returned to the accident scene. He was amazed to see many of the cars pulled off the road and only the 18 wheeler's cab remained, its trailer having been towed off. The last of the less injured patients were being loaded onto an ambulance. Vince was walking away.
"There you are, Roy. I think that was the last of them. They are going to open the freeway again."
"Have you seen Johnny?" Roy glanced in the ambulance but didn't see any paramedics.
"Last I saw he was on his way out with a pretty serious victim."
"Must have been the sedan driver. Thanks, Vince." Roy walked over to Chief Jacobsen. "Chief, are there any other victims?"
"That was the last. Two fatalities and two critical patients. I can't believe it wasn't worse. Good work, DeSoto. You can head on out now."
Roy reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, there is a problem." He pointed over at the mangled squad.
"Oh, that's right. I actually spoke to your Captain. They are coming to pick up and you and your partner. A replacement squad is being delivered."
As Chief Jacobsen turned to walk away, Roy called after him. "Impressive job, Chief. I mean that."
"Thanks, DeSoto," the chief said with an amused grin.
Roy let out a breath and tried to relax. It had been an amazing afternoon. His stomach suddenly grumbled to remind him he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He walked sadly over to their squad and looked into the still-open passenger side door. He spotted the handy talkie on the floorboard and picked it up. "A little late now," he mumbled. He heard the sound of a fire engine on the south bound lane and looked over to see Mike at the wheel. He gave the squad a pat and then crossed the median strip to the engine.
"Roy, you two okay?" Cap called down from his seat in the cab.
"I'm okay. The squad's seen better days. Johnny is probably at Rampart by now."
"Well, hop in. We'll pick him up on the way back to the station."
"Yeah, we left the boys home alone," Mike smirked.
Roy chuckled at the reference to Chet and Marco and climbed into Marco's jump seat.
Once they were at Rampart, Roy jumped down and came to Mike's window. "Cap is having the replacement squad brought here."
"Thanks, Mike. And thanks for the ride."
Mike held out his hand as if waiting for his fare. Roy laughed and walked away. Once inside, he scanned the hallway for Johnny. He spotted him leaning on Dixie's desk chatting with a nurse.
Johnny saw Roy coming down the hall. "Well, long time no see, partner." Johnny gave Roy a lopsided grin.
"No kidding. What a day, huh? Hey, I found the handy talkie. Lucky we didn't need it, I guess."
"How'd you get here?"
"Mike and Cap gave me a ride. The replacement squad is being dropped off here soon."
"Oh man, the squad. Charlie is going to…" Johnny didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when he spotted the mechanic standing in the middle of the hallway, hands on his hips. "Uh…hi, Ch-Charlie."
"Don't 'hi Charlie' me, Gage. And you too DeSoto. What did you do to my girl?"
"It, it wasn't our fault," Johnny stammered but Charlie didn't seem to care.
"Charlie, an 18-wheeler was coming right at us," Roy piped in.
Charlie stepped closer and slammed the squad keys down on the counter. "A sorry excuse." He turned and stormed off.
Roy turned back to Johnny. "And you were worried about a little noise this morning."
"Yeah, don't I know it."
"Johnny, what happened when that semi came barreling at us?" Roy finally asked the question he'd been dying to know the answer to.
Johnny shrugged. "I heard you yell and so I took off to the other side of the freeway."
"Took off. That's it?" Roy asked, amazed.
"Well, yeah. Isn't that what you did?"
"Somewhat. I wasn't the one in the dead center of a four lane highway, however. And you're all right?"
"What? Of course I'm all right. I just rescued a woman from under a Caddy, didn't I?"
Roy relaxed a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Come on, let's go check the equipment in that squad and bring in the trauma and drug boxes for stocking."
Johnny followed Roy down the hall as a family came around the corner.
"There he is, Mom," a boy of about eight exclaimed as he pointed at Johnny with a casted hand. "Wow, mister, that was great what you did."
"Uh, thanks. Come on, Roy. Let's get to the squad."
"Wait a minute, Johnny. What is he talking about?"
The father of the boy spoke up. "We were in our car at the back of the pile up when that huge truck came barreling up the middle of the road. This man was in its path and we thought sure he was going to be killed."
"Yeah, but I wasn't. Glad you are all okay too," Johnny said turning once again toward the exit. Roy did not follow.
"And then what?" Roy asked, not sure he wanted to know.
The little boy got so excited, he started to jump up and down. His mother put her hands on his shoulders but it didn't quiet him. "He came running right at our car and jumped up on the roof then flipped over it so fast. He landed on the other side then slid across the hood of the car next to us just like Starsky does on Starsky and Hutch!" The boy beamed in awe at Johnny.
"You what?" Roy said loudly turning to look at Johnny who was still trying to make his way out of the exit doors.
Johnny ran his hand through his long hair making it stick up even more. "Hey, I got out of the way, didn't I?"
Roy rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He let out a long sigh and headed out of the emergency room behind his partner.
The End
Author's Note: This story was inspired by an accident that happened in the Los Angeles County Fire Department's service area in June of last year. It occurred on another highway (not the 405). There were 17 victims, two critically injured.