AB Rescue Help Airlift Injured Boy to Hospital; Aid Trapped Driver

With Jesse Lunin-Pack

Atlantic Beach Rescue on Saturday morning coordinated the airlifting of an 8-year-old boy who had fallen on his head and may have suffered head trauma.

The boy had been playing on a short retaining wall and fallen, hitting his head on the concrete sidewalk and losing consciousness, according to AB Rescue members.  

"While the boy was alert upon the arrival of our ambulance, the mechanism of injury coupled with our exam on scene led us to suspect that there was the possibility that he had a serious head injury" Atlantic Beach Rescue Chief of Department Neil Metz said. "Out of an abundance of caution, we requested the assistance of the Nassau County Police Aviation Unit to transport the boy to a trauma center by helicopter."

A landing zone was established at the foot of the Atlantic Beach Bridge and the boy was transported without incident.

"The drive to the Nassau University Medical Center — a Level 1 Trauma Center — is 25 to 30 minutes from Atlantic Beach, before you take summer traffic into account" said Rescue Lieutenant Jesse Lunin-Pack. "We train for these scenarios with the police aviation unit, and we utilize their services a handful of times each year. Flying a patient out cuts the transport time from Atlantic Beach to the hospital down to six or seven minutes. It's a valuable option to have. We of course all wish the boy a speedy recovery."

Shortly after 3pm on Saturday, a driver lost control of her vehicle, causing it to flip on its side near the corner of Flamingo Street and Atlantic Boulevard, leaving her trapped.

Rescue teams from Atlantic Beach Rescue, the Inwood Fire Department and the Long Beach Fire Department worked together to free the driver from the vehicle. Due to the way the car was positioned on its side, removing the driver required cutting through the roof of the car. The driver was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital by a Nassau County Police ambulance.

"This was an excellent example of the professional response residents can expect from the volunteer agencies serving Nassau County," Metz said. "Personnel from three different volunteer departments, as well as the Nassau County Police, accomplished the difficult extrication quickly and safely, and the driver was transported to a hospital without incident. I want to thank all the people and departments involved for their great work. We all wish the driver a speedy recovery from her injuries."