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Published on Wednesday, January 29, 2003
in the Palm Beach Post
BOCA RATON -- Two good Samaritans helped a Florida Highway Patrol trooper keep alive a man who crashed into a bloodmobile that had broken down on Florida's Turnpike Tuesday night, state troopers said.
The South Florida Blood Bank bus was stalled in the southbound lane near the Glades Road exit when a gold Nissan smashed into it, FHP Lt. Pat Santangelo said. The car was wedged underneath the bus up to its windshield, trapping the man inside for an hour.
Passersby Edward Layton, a nurse at Delray Medical Center, and David Schlesener, of Pembroke Pines, helped trooper Conya Bassett insert a tube in the man's throat so he could breathe.
"They definitely kept him alive," she told Santangelo. The crash victim, who was not identified, was taken by helicopter to Delray Medical Center in critical condition.
No passengers were in the bus at the time of the accident. The driver failed to put flares or reflectors on the road, although the bus was equipped with them, Santangelo said. Troopers were investigating whether the driver had a license to drive the bus