SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) — At least 10 passengers injured in a bus crash over the weekend are recovering Monday and realizing how lucky they were to survive. During the snow storm on Saturday the driver of the motor coach ended up going into the ditch. The bus rolled on its side and passengers were injured. This would put medial staff at the nearest hospital to the test.
The halls of Avera St Mary’s Hospital in Pierre were quiet Saturday afternoon, but by 5 p.m. that had changed. Ambulances arrived one after another dropping off the injured. Joshua Scherrer, who lives in Idaho, was coming back to visit family. He was sitting near the front of the bus and saw the crash unfold as the wheels got sucked into slush on the shoulder along Interstate 90 south of Pierre.
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“I had my seat belt on. I was against the passenger side window and when it slid, it slid and rolled onto the passenger side, then slid quite a bit on the ground, so i was yah I stayed in my seat and all that, but the lady across from me, she didn’t have her seat belt on and fell on me and that’s why my arm is broken,” said Scherrer.
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The emergency room at Avera St Mary’s in Pierre was alerted and initiated what is called a Mass Casualty Protocol.
“Which is a protocol we have in place here at the hospital, every hospital has this, butwe practice this. It brings in every available nurse, doctor, every staff we can get,” said ER Doctor Titus Weller.
This photo from the Highway Patrol shows what the weather was like in that area. So there would be no transporting patients to Sioux Falls or Rapid City right away. The medical staff at St Mary’s knew they had to handle whatever came their way.
“So we have 12 rooms down there and each room has a designated care team ready for each of those patients to arrive, and we do have to give a hats off to our law enforcement and our first responders that responded so quickly and especially in times and situations of weather,” said Hospital CEO Shantel Krebs.
Scherrer was in pain, his arm was broken and his chest bruised from the impact.
“So there were three of us patients in the ambulance because they crammed us in there because they, yah there were a lot of people who needed help so, I was one of the first ones off because I could walk and coming in to the emergency room and seeing all those people ready and waiting to help that was pretty amazing,” said Scherrer.
Scherrer is being transported to Sioux Falls for surgery on his arm. Only one other person remains hospitalized. The rest have been treated and released.
