FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 3, 2009
Contact: Robert Preston, Jr.,
912.260.4276
robert.preston@sgsc.edu
SGC employees perform CPR on child following accident
A scary traffic accident that occurred on the campus of
South Georgia College Wednesday morning could have been much worse if not
for two quick-thinking SGC employees.
Just
before noon, Sean Caul and Brad Ingram, two SGC Physical Plant employees,
were checking out a drain on a culvert located beside Brooks Road. The two
had cleaned that same drain earlier in the morning, and heavy rains had
clogged the culvert again. Sean and Brad were driving a small SGC
maintenance vehicle. Sean had stepped out to look at the drain while Brad
remained inside. They were waiting on the rest of the crew, which wasn’t far
behind, to arrive.
At just the right moment, Sean looked up and saw an almost surreal event
taking place: A maroon Nissan Maxima was sliding sideways around the curve
on Brooks Road – heading straight for Brad. “I yelled at Brad to jump off,
and he did,” says Sean. “We didn’t hear a thing. The car was sliding but
there was no sound,” says Brad.
They both jumped into the ditch, safely out of the way of the impending
crash. Just as Brad had gotten out of the vehicle, the Maxima slammed into
it broadside, knocking the vehicle across the road.
The car came to a stop on the curb with the front end hanging over the
culvert. Immediately, the driver, Duan Jackson of a Douglas address, jumped
out clutching a small child. “She was screaming that her baby wasn’t
breathing,” remembers Sean. As it turned out, Ms. Jackson was on her way to
Coffee Regional Medical Center with her grandson, who was in distress. She
had notified the hospital she was on her way, and medical personnel were
expecting her.
If the accident was going to happen under those circumstances, it couldn’t
have happened at a better place at a better time. Both Brad and Sean are
CPR-certified, and they went right to work. Sean quickly called 911 and
handed his phone to Brad. He then took the child from Ms. Jackson’s arms,
felt for a pulse and checked his airway. The child wasn’t breathing but had
a faint pulse. His airway was unobstructed. Sean began performing chest
compressions while Brad gave instructions to 911. Within seconds, an
ambulance was on its way. After a few moments of CPR, the child’s pulse had
grown stronger. With the baby recovering, Sean handed him back to Ms.
Jackson.
EMTs soon arrived and transported Ms. Jackson and her grandson to CRMC.
Later Monday, the child had recovered and was released.
Both men believe the accident could have been much more serious if the ditch
hadn’t been cleaned earlier. “The water wasn’t that deep and it had stopped
raining. If the ditch had been full, she would have gone over the side and
the accident would have been worse,” says Sean.
Later Monday afternoon, Brad and Sean said Ms. Jackson came back through the
college and thanked them for what they did for her grandson. Both said they
didn’t think about what was happening as the incident unfolded. “The
training kicked in,” says Sean.
Photo: After striking an
SGC maintenance vehicle Wednesday morning, Duan Jackson’s maroon Nissan
Maxima came to a rest over the curb and almost fell in a ditch on campus.
Ms. Jackson was transporting her grandson to Coffee Regional Medical Center
when the accident took place. The child wasn’t breathing, and quick action
by Sean Caul and Brad Ingram may have made the difference. EMTs carried the
boy to CRMC, where he recovered and was released Wednesday afternoon.
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About South Georgia College
South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu)
was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System
of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives
students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close
collaboration with faculty.
