When the News Comes to You
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Most times, you have to go cover the news and sometimes the news comes to you.
That's what happened when a car crashed outside the WKMG (Orlando) studios yesterday morning.
WKMG traffic safety expert Steve Montiero and morning director Willie Doby were getting a breath of fresh air around 7:15 a.m. when they heard the crash happen in front of the studios.
"I looked to my right and I saw the (telephone) pole sparking fire, and so I knew it was an accident and so I started calling Steve's name, and he started running toward me and we just took off," Doby said.
The Orlando Sentinel writes that the two ran to the scene and found a silver convertible flipped on its side with its airbags deployed and the two men partially ejected.
"The car was on its side. It looked like it was traveling pretty fast and, unfortunately, struck that pole," Montiero said.
Montiero, an Air Force veteran who worked as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper for eight years, said his training and instincts kicked in when he saw the two injured men.
"I got down; jumped right into first responder mode -- you know, having that trooper mindset. Got down there; made sure he was OK. One of them was still stuck inside the car; heavy laceration to their forehead. It's pretty bad. You can see this passenger's skull at this point," Montiero said.
Montiero first did his best to make sure the downed power line was not active, then he and Doby pulled both the driver and the passenger away from the mangled vehicle.
They asked a person standing near the scene to take off his shirt so it could be wrapped around the victim's wound to stop the heavy bleeding from his forehead and cover his exposed skull.
Guess, the TV people were willing to help, but not give up their shirts.
Both men were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment. The passenger is in critical but stable condition, and the driver is in stable condition.
H/T Orlando Sentinel
