The old chestnut of heated rivalry on the playing field, respect off it? A medical version of it was on full life-saving display this past weekend.
Following Saturday night’s Alabama-LSU game in Baton Rouge, an LSU police officer on a motorcycle helping to escort UA’s motorcade to the airport was struck by a vehicle and sustained significant injuries. Fortunately for the unnamed officer, Tide team doctors Lyle Cain, Norman Waldrop, Marc Biggers and Benton Emblom were a part of the motorcade.
All four rushed to the police officer’s aid, and found that the officer “was unresponsive and unconscious, had multiple broken bones and you don’t know what’s going on internally.” According to Waldrop, "[w]e knew it was life-threatening.”
While none of the four currently work in trauma situations -- they’re a part of world-renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews’ facility in Birmingham -- their training kicked in.
“I remember I actually had that clear thought ... ‘We need to go through Step A, Step B, Step C, Step D, and make sure all these things are happening,’” Waldrop said. “Part of that was, we’ve all been there so we were all communicating and talking with each other. It was good teamwork.”
The four team doctors, along with other police officers on the scene, helped stabilize the injured officer until an ambulance and EMTs arrived on the scene.
As for the injured officer? While he sustained what was described as serious injuries, he is currently listed in stable condition at an area hospital.
According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the driver of the vehicle has been charged with failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, after they turned left into the passing motorcade. No one in that vehicle sustained serious injuries.
(Photo credit: Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center)