LOUIS (First Alert 4) – Three weeks ago, 37-year-old Shane Kurk was critically injured when a semi collided with his car at the intersection of Highway 50 and Prairie Dell Road in Union. Three nursing students from East Central College, returning to class from lunch, witnessed the accident.
“It was pretty bad. A semi vs. a car is never a good situation,” said nursing student Toni Sells.
“I saw his head hit the window and then the door. I knew we had to act fast,” said nursing student Audrey Schroeder.
The nursing students immediately stopped their car and rushed to the scene. Olivia Reed, the first to reach Kurk’s door, quickly checked for a pulse.
“I didn’t feel one,” she said.
Reed performed a sternum rub to assess Kurk’s neurological condition and began CPR. After two rounds of chest compressions, Schroeder took over and soon felt a pulse. Moments later, Kurk gasped for air.
“It felt like forever, but it was probably only 20 or 30 seconds before he took that big gasp,” said Schroeder.
Meanwhile, Sells attended to the truck driver, who was hyperventilating.
“I tried to calm him down, regulate his breathing. I grabbed his phone and offered to call someone for him. I called his wife,” she said.
The students credited their instructors at East Central College for instilling in them the confidence to act in such an emergency.
“There was no hesitation because there was no time for it. My confidence in my abilities comes from my teachers,” said Sells.
It wasn’t until they got back to their car that the gravity of what they’d done hit them.
“As we got in the car, I looked at the others and said, ‘Guys, we just saved a life,’” said Reed.
The students returned to class with a renewed sense of confidence, reassured they were on the right path in their careers.
“It was traumatic, but it was also rewarding to know that we had the confidence to do what we did and that we’re meant to be nurses,” said Schroeder.
Kurk’s brother reported that while he remains in ICU, he is showing signs of improvement. The Union Police Department informed First Alert 4 that the accident remains under investigation.
