Courtesy photo
From left, Mineral County Sheriff Randy Adams awarded Undersheriff Bill Ferguson, Sergeant Gabe Andrada and Deputy Johnny Bateman Life Saving Medal’s for their work when responding to a recent crash outside Hawthorne.

On Aug. 8, three employees of the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office were presented with Life Saving Medal’s after providing lifesaving measures after an automobile accident.

The accident occurred on April 12 of this year at approximately 1 p.m. Undersheriff Bill Ferguson, Sergeant Gabe Andrada and Deputy Johnny Bateman were on duty and were dispatched to a two vehicle accident located on U.S. Highway 95 at mile marker 53 in Mineral County.

The reporting party advised dispatch that he had just “T-boned another vehicle and there were people pinned inside.”

He went on to say, “One of the subjects has broken bones visible.”

Upon arrival, the three law enforcement officers began providing lifesaving medical treatment to the victims.

Entry was gained into the vehicle by forcing the passenger side door poor where the first subject was semi-conscious and complaining of a head injury. The men began holding C-spine and caring for the driver’s injuries.

The driver’s arm was severely injured and they successfully applied a tourniquet to the arm to stop the excessive bleeding and placed a splint on the injured extremity which had multiple compound fractures.

With brute force, these officers began to remove interior parts of the vehicle while holding C-spine to successfully un-trap the driver.

After doing so, the driver was successfully transported to Mt. Grant General Hospital where the emergency room doctor credited their actions with saving the driver’s life.

In a certificate presented to Ferguson, Andrada and Bateman, it states, “The quick actions of these men bring great credit upon themselves, the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and Mineral County. As such, they are hereby awarded the Life Saving Medal.”

Sheriff Randy Adams told the Independent-News, “We are truly blessed to have such talented, hard working people working in our Sheriff’s Office.”