219th SFS: Good Samaritans

Published Dec. 9, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Lauren Pitts
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Once the black cloud of smoke faded away, the scene became clear again. Two vehicles, crushed into each other and a nearby telephone pole: a tangled wreck of metal and glass sitting on the side of the freeway with passengers inside.

Not sure what they would find when they approached the crash, two Minot Airman were the first to respond to the accident after they watched it through their own windshield. Calling out, and pushing back the debris, they found that miraculously, no one was hurt.

"All we saw was a collision, a cloud of smoke, and the telephone pole come down," said Master Sgt. Paul Skees, 219th Security Forces Squadron, who was returning from downtown Minot with Master Sgt. Cody Chick, 219th SFS, when they witnessed the crash.

Two pickup trucks, one northbound, another crossing the interstate traveling East, found each other in the Ruthville intersection.

"We came up on the scene, and all the airbags were deployed," Chick explained. "That was when we called the local authorities."

Expecting to find lifeless bodies, the Airmen were amazed to find all four passengers -- two women in one vehicle, and one woman with her dog in the other -- virtually unharmed.

"There was maybe a scratch on one person," Chick explained. "This was incredible for that collision."

Chick and Skees both explained their surprise at the minor injuries in the wreck, and how lucky all the passengers were to be alive.

Once authorities arrived one scene, Chick and Skees returned to their post on base, they took with the m an important lesson; and although it may be a safety briefing cliché, they understood the importance of vehicle safety.

"That was just a prime example of how airbags and seatbelts save lives," added Skees.