PETERSBURG, Va. β A crash response on Interstate 95 in Petersburg Tuesday morning led to an unexpected rescue when Virginia State Police discovered a man who had fallen 20 feet from a bridge onto railroad tracks below.
The incident began when a driver crashed into a jersey wall on I-95 South near Wagner Road after swerving to avoid a deer. When police responded to the crash, they made a startling discovery.
"One person over the bridge and was lying on the train tracks," Petersburg firefighter Shania Inge said.
Firefighters immediately deployed their technical rescue team to reach the victim.
Inge rappelled down to make initial contact while the rest of the rope system was being set up.
Once beside the patient, Inge encountered a language barrier and used basic Spanish to communicate with the man.
The rescue team then conducted a low-angle rescue using a specialized rope system to bring the victim to the top of the bridge, where firefighter Kevin Vaquiz was waiting.
"I could see he felt relieved that I could understand what he was telling me, so I could relay to the medic what he needed," Vaquiz, who speaks fluent Spanish, said.
Vaquiz, who has been with the department for almost 10 months, said this wasn't his first time using Spanish on the job. About 6% of Petersburg's current population is Hispanic.
"We deal with language barriers quite frequently in the city," Inge said. "So just developing a basic knowledge of specific Spanish phrases kind of helps bridge the gap enough that you're operable."
Vaquiz emphasized the importance of language skills in emergency situations.
"I think it's very important because if somebody doesn't speak English, it helps to help them, get them the care that they need, it could be life or death," Vaquiz said.
After the man was stabilized on scene, Vaquiz rode with paramedics to the hospital to continue providing translation services.
"It was good to be able to do my job and translate and actually help another Hispanic like me, in a time of need," Vaquiz said.
The technical rescue team's swift action was crucial in getting the victim off the active train tracks and to safety.
"It's something we train on regularly so it's not a very difficult operation but you just get the patient stabilized and then into the basket and do the lashings and then you're ready to haul him up," Inge said.
Police said the man suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
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