Chapter 20
20
S ean blinked a few times to clear the dust. It swirled in the vehicle and he realized he was upside down. His seat belt was tight, cutting into his hips. He tried to loosen it and then realized he'd fall on his head.
He twisted to look back at Mina. She hung in the back seat, blood dripped from her head. Her eyes were closed and he couldn't tell if she was breathing.
"Mina! Mina, honey! Wake up, Mina!" He had a hard time making his voice loud enough to hear. Ringing in his ears prevented him from hearing himself.
He tried twisting to reach back and touch her. He pulled on the seats to stretch himself back. He couldn't reach her. He fought with the seat belt, finding the latch, he released it, bracing himself with his left hand so he didn't fall on his head.
Once he'd freed himself from his seat, he scrambled and twisted himself around. He looked over at Gloria. She was unconscious. He shook her, "Gloria! Gloria! Wake up, Gloria!" He felt her neck for a pulse. She had one. Relief sizzled through him.
He scrambled on the crumpled roof of his SUV. One of his guitars had flown up and laid against Mina. He pushed it away from her and felt her neck for a pulse. Her coloring was weird, bluish or gray. He could feel a pulse, but it was faint. He was afraid to release her seat belt. The extent of her injuries wasn’t known, and didn't he read somewhere once where you weren't supposed to do anything until the ambulance crew got there in case you caused more harm? He remembered seeing that.
Feeling around his pockets, he found his phone. He stretched himself out enough that he could remove it from his pocket. Careful not to kick Mina's arms, which hung down onto the roof.
From his thrashing around, the vehicle wiggled, then rocked. He braced himself between the front and back seats as the vehicle tilted over to the side.
Mina now hung precariously from her seat belt. Tears filled his eyes. He remembered those stupid reporters. Stupid fucking reporters!
Sirens sounded and his heart beat faster as relief finally allowed him to take a breath. He managed to place his thumb on the nine on his phone and held it down.
He heard, "911, what's your emergency?" Lifting his phone with his right hand, he responded, "This is Sean West. I've been in an accident. We've been in an accident. I need an ambulance. I have my...my girlfriend and my daughter in the car."
He swallowed and stared at Mina. “My daughter. She's turning blue. She's hanging from the seat belt. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to move her. I'm afraid to undo the seat belt. I need someone here. She's turning blue. I need help. I need help." Panic filled his chest as he spoke.
"Calm down, Mr. West. Let me help you till ambulance crews arrive. Is that the accident on forty-eight?"
"Yes. Yes. It is. We rolled. The vehicle rolled. We're in a field somewhere. The vehicle just rolled again. We were on the roof, but it was tilted to the side. I guess my thrashing around caused it to roll a little bit more."
"All right. Stay calm, Mr. West. Stay still. Ambulance crews are coming. Can you feel a pulse? Does your daughter have a pulse? And your girlfriend, does she have a pulse?"
"Yes. Yes. Yes, my daughter's pulse is light. It was very hard to feel. My girlfriend's pulse is better. But she's unconscious. She hit her head on the window. My daughter, too, there's blood coming from her head. I need someone to come here. We need help. They need help. I can't let them die."
"Please calm down, Mr. West. I see that ambulance crews are on their way. They are within a minute or two of you. You should be hearing sirens."
He listened. He closed his eyes. "Yes." The faint sound of sirens came to him. "Yes, I can hear them. I can hear them."
"Okay. Calm down, Mr. West. Just stay on the line with me. Are either your daughter or your girlfriend moving?"
"No, they're both unconscious."
"Okay. So hang tight. I'll let ambulance crews know that you need help immediately. And they will be there shortly."
"Okay. What can I do in the meantime? What can I do? I can't let them die."
"Just hold tight, Mr. West. Hold tight."
He heard the sirens grow louder and then shut off. Tires crunching on the pavement signaled their arrival.
"I hear them. I hear them. I think they're here. I think they're here." He swallowed and turned his head to listen.
"Yes, Mr. West. I do see that they are there. I'll hang on with you until they get to you."
The sound of pounding footsteps reached his ears. They were running. And he tried twisting his head to look out the smashed windows.
Finally, a voice yelled, "Is anybody in there?"
"Yes! Yes! We’re in here! We need help! I need help! My daughter and my girlfriend! They need help! Please, please get them out!"
The 911 operator said, "Mr. West, I'm going to let you go now. Listen to the EMT crews. They will help you."
"Yes! yes! Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you."
He just dropped his phone. He didn't bother to hang on to it. He could see crews looking through the broken glass from the driver's door.
Through a small hole, a face peered down to him. "What do you have in here? How many of you?"
He pointed to the back seat. "My daughter -- my daughter's pulse is very weak. She's hanging from the seat belt. I need help getting her out."
"Did she hit her head on the window?"
"Yes, sir."
"Hang tight. Do you have another passenger in the vehicle with you?"
"Yes, my girlfriend. She's unconscious. She hit her head also."
"Okay, hang on. Hang on. We're getting to you. We're coming through the back window. Shield yourself from the glass in case it sprays, if you can."
Sean put his body, the best he could, in front of Mina's face so she wouldn't get hit with any more glass. He whispered in her ear, "We have help now, Mina. Hang on."
The breaking of glass from the back end of the SUV reached his ears. It sounded like someone crinkled cellophane. An EMT worker climbed in, and onto the side of his vehicle.
He peered between the top of the back seat and the roof.
"Okay, sir. Hang tight. I've got -- we've got fire crews out bracing the vehicle so it doesn't roll again, and I'm here to help your daughter and your girlfriend. What is your name?"
"Sean. West. Sean West."
The EMT started taking vitals. Another climbed into the back. It was difficult for them to be able to move around the way the vehicle was situated.
Sean just hung on tight to Mina's ankle. He couldn't get in the way of the EMTs, but he wanted to touch her. He stared at Mina's face. His eyes watered, relief at finally seeing the EMT workers here, but fear screamed through his body. He couldn't just find her, only to lose her. It couldn't be this way. It just couldn't be this way. His heart beat so fast it was hard for him to catch a breath, and he started gasping for air.
The EMT said, "Mr. West, please slow your breathing. Slow down. We don't need you passing out on us. Slow, deep breaths, please. Slow, deep breaths."
The EMT gently placed a collar around Mina's neck. One braced her head and shoulders as the other pulled out a pair of scissors and cut Mina's seat belt off. They carefully held her in place as a basket was slipped under her body. She was gently laid inside and pulled out of the vehicle.
"Okay, Mr. West, we need you to come with us."
"But Gloria's here. Gloria needs someone with her."
"We will take care of getting Gloria out of the vehicle, Mr. West. Please go with your daughter."