GARNETT, Kan. — A person trapped in a grain cart late Tuesday morning west of Garnett was rescued and received advanced treatment for injuries within 90 minutes of Anderson County Emergency Communications receiving a call for assistance, underscoring the value to training, interagency cooperation, and pre-identified trauma system.
According to Anderson County Sheriff Wes McClain, the call was received at 11:35 AM. Within two minutes, Anderson County EMS, Garnett Rescue and Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched. Four minutes after that three Sheriff’s personnel and the County Fire Coordinator were on scene, entered the cart, and recognized the patient was experiencing a life-threatening emergency, with a tourniquet applied to control severe bleeding.
At 11:48 AM an EMS advanced life support unit and EMS Director Troy Armstrong arrived, with Garnett rescue on scene a minute later. At the time of dispatch EMS had requested an air ambulance be placed on standby.
Eight minutes later, the patient was freed from the cart and taken to Anderson County Hospital where a helicopter arrived not quite 15 minutes after the rescue was made and patient taken from there to a level one trauma center, receiving advanced treatment, a little less than 90 minutes after the initial call came in.
“This incident highlights the importance of rapid and accurate information flow,” said Chelsey D’Albini, Anderson County Communications Center Director. “Our dispatchers coordinated multiple agencies, requested the air ambulance, and ensured resources were mobilized quickly. That early coordination was a critical link in the chain of survival.”
Sheriff Wes McClain praised the collaboration: “This was true teamwork. From deputies jumping in to provide immediate aid, to EMS and rescue personnel coordinating the extrication and transport, everyone had one mission—save a life. Today’s response proves the strength of our emergency system in Anderson County.”
EMS Director Armstrong commended the quick action of law enforcement and the seamless teamwork: “The Sheriff’s Office deputies made a lifesaving decision by applying a tourniquet in those first critical minutes. That intervention, combined with rapid extrication by rescue and advanced care by EMS, ensured this patient had the best possible chance of survival. I couldn’t be prouder of the collaboration that occurred today.”
Rural Trauma Facts provided by Anderson County Sheriff’s Office:
- Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under age 45.
- Patients injured in rural areas are 50% more likely to die from their injuries than those in urban areas, largely due to time and distance to advanced care.
- The quick recognition, response, and activation of a regional trauma system can mean the difference between life and death.
