BOMONT, W.Va. — Jeremy Mullins of Bomont, W.Va. knew immediately what had happened when he was awakened early Wednesday morning at his Clay County home.
“I was in bed, it was about 4:05. I heard the bang and about 30 seconds later all of them yelling for help. I called 9-1-1 immediately,” he said. “I knew what had happened. I knew it was a wreck and somebody was hurt.”
What he couldn’t have imagined was the scene which unfolded only feet away from his front door. An F-150 extended cab pickup truck rammed through the guardrail, over an embankment, and struck a tree on the creek bank in front of his home. There were 11 people in the truck, five of them were in the bed and ejected in all directions.
“She was still moving and had a pulse, but I was collecting all of them and putting them on my porch. When I got back to her, she didn’t have a pulse, The way she was pinned, I needed a crane or something to get that truck off her. Just pulling it off wasn’t going to work.” — Jeremy Mullins
“There was one in the creek, one on the bank, and one under the truck,” Mullins said as he stood looking at the aftermath of a deadly crash near his driveway. “The rest of them were walking wounded. All of them were hurt in some way.” “
Mullins is a member of the West Virginia Air National Guard and summonsed his military training in mass casualty situations to deal with the victims.
“I put all of them that could walk on the porch and made them stay put because some of them had injuries that could be exacerbated if they moved around,” he said.
He also checked on the condition of the most serious victim. Kara Conley, 17, of Bomont was pinned under the truck which now lay on its side in the creek.
“She was still moving and had a pulse, but I was collecting all of them and putting them on my porch. When I got back to her, she didn’t have a pulse,” he said. “The way she was pinned, I needed a crane or something to get that truck off her. Just pulling it off wasn’t going to work.”
Still alone, Mullins tried to comfort the two most critical survivors and keep them still. He was on the phone with 9-1-1 calmly delivering accurate information to paramedics and explaining how many ambulances would be needed. A few minutes later emergency crews started to arrive.
“I was running back and forth, making them (survivors) stay put and trying to assist the others. Every one of them was in shock,” he said. “The driver was inconsolable and there was nothing you could do.”