Submitted photo Car crash victims know the shock and fear that immediately follow. For two drivers, thankfully, the right people were nearby at the right time.

BEMUS POINT — Students enrolled in a local practical nursing program are training to prepare for a variety of health-related situations.

For one student on her way to class last week at Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, a car accident provided an early lesson in how to assess a situation and to remain calm.

Adrianna Heary of Fredonia was traveling on Ellery Centralia Road near Bemus Point on her way to her practical nursing class at the Hewes Educational Center. As she drove, she caught glimpse of an accident in her rearview mirror involving a car that was traveling behind her and one that she had just drove past. One of the cars flipped over as a result so she quickly pulled over and called 911.

Heary first approached the vehicle that had flipped and made contact with the male driver who miraculously didn’t suffer any injuries. She then checked on the other vehicle that suffered the brunt of the damage.

“I went over to the other car, and there was only one passenger as well,” Heary said. “I tried to open her door and it was stuck shut. I asked the girl how she was feeling, and I noticed a few things that were off. She stated that she was really warm and couldn’t feel her legs. She also said that she was super thirsty, and she kept repeating things and was very pale. She also had no idea what just happened. All of these are signs of shock.

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to pull her out of the vehicle because she could have had severe injuries. The girl held onto my hand while waiting for other people to show up, and I just kept talking to her, asking her questions about herself.”

As fate would have it, the next vehicle to show up at the scene was also filled with people on their way to the practical nursing program: health care services specialist Susan Sosinski, and administrative assistant Karen Gollnitz, a certified first responder and director of ski patrol for Cockaigne Resort.

“The driver had blood pressure below 100 because she had no radial pulse, and Adrianna’s assessment that the driver was in shock was correct,” Gollnitz said.

First responders arrived on scene soon after and were able to remove the driver from her vehicle; she was transported her by ambulance for treatment. The driver, a SUNY Fredonia student who was on her way to her student-teaching placement, is recovering from her injuries and is doing much better. Not trying to extract her from the vehicle turned out to be the right decision as she suffered from trauma to the abdomen and lung and a concussion.

“I am happy that my nursing instincts kicked in and told me to stop and help,” Heary said. “I knew a lot more than I thought I did, and I am so happy everyone is OK.”