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INUVIK
"I sat up and my head pounded, I knew there was something wrong with my face but I didn't want to look at it," recalls Inuvik resident Ashley Raddi.

Canadian Forces medical personnel arrive at the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Centre with an accident victim Aug. 11. An injured man was involved in a single-vehicle accident along the Dempster Highway near Tsiigehtchic and was treated at the scene by Armed Forces personnel before being transported to Inuvik. - photo courtesy of Capt. Jordan Woodman

She remembers everything about the vehicle accident she was in Saturday on the Inuvik side of the ferry crossing.

"I remember hitting the loose gravel which resulted in us fishtailing and heading for the side of the road," she said.

"We ended up rolling for what seemed like forever."

Raddi was one of three people in a Hummer when it rolled. The driver, Kelly Donovan, and his daughter, Kianis, were the other two occupants.

"I couldn't breathe when we finally stopped," said Raddi.

"I could hear Kelly yelling at me for me to answer him and that's when I realized there was a bunch of stuff on me."

With her shoes missing, Raddi made sure Kianis was OK, took her shoes and ran to the ferry landing screaming for help and waving her arms.

That's when she saw the military vehicle, which also happened to be an ambulance.

Whenever there are more than two military vehicles in a convoy, an ambulance has to be there to provide convoy coverage, explained Operation Nanook task force sergeant Capt. Aaron Minkley.

As Raddi came running yelling for help, the ambulance and three Canadian Forces medical technicians were there to help.

"It was a military vehicle, it didn't scream ambulance," said Raddi. "But when I saw it I was just like 'Yes, they'll have a medic on staff and know how to treat us.'"

"The Canadian Forces medical system is set up to treat members," said Minkley. "But in the case of a life- or limb-threatening injury we can treat civilians."

After getting on the satellite phone to get permission to transport the patients to the Inuvik Regional Health Centre, two of the medical technicians drove to the scene of the accident while one stayed with Raddi.

"Med techs train throughout the year," said Minkley. "But just four days before the accident they held a joint exercise with the firefighters in an extraction scenario. This was the exact scenario we had trained for."

Private Mike Toms was one of the medical technicians on site. He said initially they weren't sure how serious it was.

"Every situation is a little bit different and we're all trained in primary care," he said. "They're kind of natural reactions, you don't hesitate, you just react."

Everyone involved in the accident is now home safely.

"Kelly just got home Monday from Yellowknife," said Raddi.

"We just have the expected injuries; black eyes, scratches, muscle pulls. I just wanted to say thank you to the military people at the campsite as well as the civilians and to the Inuvik hospital staff."

The Aug. 11 incident was Raddi's third major car crash in 10 years.

"It got me thinking, if it's not luck what is it," she asks. "Why do I keep being able to walk away?"

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