When a person is ejected through a windshield....

[MrCurious]

I am not an EMT. I am not training to be an EMT. I'm just curious about the normal outcomes of car wrecks in which the driver is ejected through the windshield.

A friend of mine from high school recently died in a car wreck. He was driving a car without a seat belt on, and he lost control of the car. The car left the rode and went in a ditch and overturned and then hit a tree. He was ejected through the windshield. The EMT's took him to a hospital where he died of his injuries the next day. I'm very curious about his death.

In your experience, when a car hits a tree or any other type of object in a wreck AND the driver is ejected through the windshield, is the driver usually still conscious on the ground when you (the EMT) first arrive at the scene of the car wreck? If not, does the driver usually come to before he or she reaches the hospital? Or are drivers ejected through a windshield in car wrecks usually in a coma from the time of the wreck until they die?

When people get ejected through the windshields of cars in car wrecks, does the person typically die from his or her injuries sustained in the wreck?

 

[Jim37F]

I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope you're able to grieve and process everything, but unfortunately, there really isn't much in the way of a single, solid answer to your question.

It's nearly impossible to say how well they'd be conscious or when afterwards, because it varies greatly depending on the exact specific traumas received, and even then, it's not entirely uncommon for two different people to have their bodies react differently to the same event. Like with the info available, it's entirely possible for the range of options to all be potentially true (that they were initially conscious on scene, or fully unconscious throughout, or periods of regaining/losing consciousness, any are very possible)

But that kind of ejection through the windshield? It takes a lot of force to send a person through the laminated safety glass (especially up and out of the seat in the first place), plus the sudden stop with the ground...

All that can be said for sure, is that any patient experiencing those kinds of forces is exceedingly likely to have suffered significant life threatening injuries. Beyond that vague statement... there really isn't anything more specific that can be said

 

[MrCurious]

I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope you're able to grieve and process everything, but unfortunately, there really isn't much in the way of a single, solid answer to your question.

It's nearly impossible to say how well they'd be conscious or when afterwards, because it varies greatly depending on the exact specific traumas received, and even then, it's not entirely uncommon for two different people to have their bodies react differently to the same event. Like with the info available, it's entirely possible for the range of options to all be potentially true (that they were initially conscious on scene, or fully unconscious throughout, or periods of regaining/losing consciousness, any are very possible)

But that kind of ejection through the windshield? It takes a lot of force to send a person through the laminated safety glass (especially up and out of the seat in the first place), plus the sudden stop with the ground...

All that can be said for sure, is that any patient experiencing those kinds of forces is exceedingly likely to have suffered significant life threatening injuries. Beyond that vague statement... there really isn't anything more specific that can be said

I figured that the outcomes of when a person went through the windshield in a car wreck would be a mixed bag. You could still be more specific. In your experience, has it been about 50/50 with about half of all people ejected through windshields conscious and half unconscious?

How many car wrecks do you think that you've responded to in your career in which a person was ejected through a windshield? If you don't know the exact number, could you give me a ballpark estimate?

 

[MrCurious]

All that can be said for sure, is that any patient experiencing those kinds of forces is exceedingly likely to have suffered significant life threatening injuries. Beyond that vague statement... there really isn't anything more specific that can be said

You could give me the ballpark estimates of percentages of difference outcomes in your experience for sure.

 

[DesertMedic66]

I figured that the outcomes of when a person went through the windshield in a car wreck would be a mixed bag. You could still be more specific. In your experience, has it been about 50/50 with about half of all people ejected through windshields conscious and half unconscious?

How many car wrecks do you think that you've responded to in your career in which a person was ejected through a windshield? If you don't know the exact number, could you give me a ballpark estimate?

You could give me the ballpark estimates of percentages of difference outcomes in your experience for sure.

There are many different factors that have to be considered. No one is able to give you exact numbers or even estimate percentages. You could have the same exact motor vehicle collision and have 2 vastly different patient outcomes. I’ve had ejections were 1 person lived and 1 died. I’ve also had ejections were everyone who was ejected died. I think the best answer you are probably going to get is “getting ejected from a vehicle has a high probability of the patient receiving major injuries”.

 

[MrCurious]

I was hoping to get some information here that I did not know before I found this message board earlier today.

There are many different factors that have to be considered. No one is able to give you exact numbers or even estimate percentages. You could have the same exact motor vehicle collision and have 2 vastly different patient outcomes. I’ve had ejections were 1 person lived and 1 died. I’ve also had ejections were everyone who was ejected died. I think the best answer you are probably going to get is “getting ejected from a vehicle has a high probability of the patient receiving major injuries”.

Approximately how many ejections have you responded to in your career?

 

[MrCurious]

Have you ever responded to a car wreck in which a person was ejected through the windshield and was not in critical condition?

 

[DesertMedic66]

I was hoping to get some information here that I did not know before I found this message board earlier today.



Approximately how many ejections have you responded to in your career?

Have you ever responded to a car wreck in which a person was ejected through the windshield and was not in critical condition?

In 13 years in EMS I have maybe had a 10 ejections however I have no clue what part of the car they were elected from. Out of those maybe 10 I had 1 who just got a broken leg. The majority were dead on our arrival.

 

[MrCurious]

In 13 years in EMS I have maybe had a 10 ejections however I have no clue what part of the car they were elected from. Out of those maybe 10 I had 1 who just got a broken leg. The majority were dead on our arrival.

I would have thought that in 13 years as an EMT, you would have responded to a lot more than 10 ejections. That's less than one ejection per year. I would have thought that you would get an ejection call about once every month or two. Very interesting. That's some information I didn't know before I created this thread.

 

[MrCurious]

Can anyone else who has been an EMT chime in on this?

 

[CCCSD]

I would have thought that in 13 years as an EMT, you would have responded to a lot more than 10 ejections. That's less than one ejection per year. I would have thought that you would get an ejection call about once every month or two. Very interesting. That's some information I didn't know before I created this thread.

You don’t get to dictate the answers you receive. A member with YEARS of experience gave you some input. If you don’t like it, or want to vicariously live in our world, this isn’t the place for you.

 

[CCCSD]

Can anyone else who has been an EMT chime in on this?

Sure. I call those ejected Missle Babies. They die. Wear a seatbelt next time…oh. Never mind.

 

[MrCurious]

You don’t get to dictate the answers you receive. A member with YEARS of experience gave you some input. If you don’t like it, or want to vicariously live in our world, this isn’t the place for you.

I never tried to dictate the answers I receive. I never said that I don't like his or her answers. I just said that I am surprised by his or her answers.

 

[MrCurious]

Sure. I call those ejected Missle Babies. They die. Wear a seatbelt next time…oh. Never mind.

How often do you respond to a car wreck in which someone was ejected from a car?

 

[mgr22]

Can anyone else who has been an EMT chime in on this?

Sure. In my opinion, the replies you've received are as good as you'll get if you're asking casually about personal experiences.

Rarely would an EMT log his/her call types, dates, and outcomes to provide data suitable for a study. If that's what you're seeking, you should explore other sources.

Also, and this is just to give you a constructive heads-up about how I'm interpreting your tone, when you say "You could still be more specific," "I was hoping to get some information here that I did not know before...," and "I would have thought that in 13 years as an EMT, you would have responded to a lot more than 13 ejections," you sound confrontational and judgmental -- not a wise approach when seeking free assistance from strangers.

 

[MrCurious]

Sure. In my opinion, the replies you've received are as good as you'll get if you're asking casually about personal experiences.

Rarely would an EMT log his/her call types, dates, and outcomes to provide data suitable for a study. If that's what you're seeking, you should explore other sources.

Also, and this is just to give you a constructive heads-up about how I'm interpreting your tone, when you say "You could still be more specific," "I was hoping to get some information here that I did not know before...," and "I would have thought that in 13 years as an EMT, you would have responded to a lot more than 13 ejections," you sound confrontational and judgmental -- not a wise approach when seeking free assistance from strangers.

I will admit that "You could still be more specific" and "I was hoping to get some information here that I did not know before" was pushy. I am a thick-skinned person.

My statement that "I would have thought that in 13 years as an EMT, you would have responded to a lot more than 13 ejections" was not confrontational or judgmental at all. I was merely saying that 10 ejections in 13 years was far less ejections than I would have imagined that he or she saw. It's not a value judgment.

I am a long distance trucker. One time a guy who has never been a trucker before asked me how many miles I drive in the semi-truck per year. I told him about 125,000 miles per year, which is typical for a solo trucker on a truck that is governed at 65 mph. He responded "I would have thought that you would get more miles than that per year." This is analagous to my comment to Desert Medic about my views on the number of ejections he had seen in 13 years. I was saying that an aspect of his job was not what I imagined it to be. The guy who said that he thought i would get more than 125,000 miles per year was saying that an aspect of my job was not what he imagined it to be. I was not offended in the slightest. Non-truckers imagine that truckers just keep the wheels of a semi-truck rolling at 65 mph all the time 365 days per year except for when the trucker is sleeping. No, there are dozens of things that keep truckers from keeping the wheels of a semi-truck rolling at 65 mph all the time except for when the trucker is sleeping. Truckers are limited by an 11 hr of drive time clock (that can only be reset after a 10 hour break), a 14 hr clock on their shift times (which can only be reset by a 10 hour break), a 8 hr DOT clock which can only be reset after a 30 minute break, and a 70 hour over 8 day clock (which can only be reset by a 34 hour break). Furthermore, sometimes the truck or trailer breaks down, and the truck will be down for days waiting on a repair. Plus most truckers take hometime once every 3 or 4 weeks for 3 or 4 days. Plus we get in traffic jams due to car wrecks and road construction. Plus we sometimes have to wait many hours at shippers and receivers to get our trailers loaded and unloaded. And I could name dozens of other things that delay us. Most non-truckers don't understand that, but I don't get offended by the fact that they don't understand that.

If anyone has any questions about what it is like to be a long-distance trucker (also called an OTR trucker), you can ask me them, and I won't get offended if my answers are not what you expected.

 

[FiremanMike]

I will admit that "You could still be more specific" and "I was hoping to get some information here that I did not know before" was pushy. I am a thick-skinned person.

My statement that "I would have thought that in 13 years as an EMT, you would have responded to a lot more than 13 ejections" was not confrontational or judgmental at all. I was merely saying that 10 ejections in 13 years was far less ejections than I would have imagined that he or she saw. It's not a value judgment.

I am a long distance trucker. One time a guy who has never been a trucker before asked me how many miles I drive in the semi-truck per year. I told him about 125,000 miles per year, which is typical for a solo trucker on a truck that is governed at 65 mph. He responded "I would have thought that you would get more miles than that per year." This is analagous to my comment to Desert Medic about my views on the number of ejections he had seen in 13 years. I was saying that an aspect of his job was not what I imagined it to be. The guy who said that he thought i would get more than 125,000 miles per year was saying that an aspect of my job was not what he imagined it to be. I was not offended in the slightest. Non-truckers imagine that truckers just keep the wheels of a semi-truck rolling at 65 mph all the time 365 days per year except for when the trucker is sleeping. No, there are dozens of things that keep truckers from keeping the wheels of a semi-truck rolling at 65 mph all the time except for when the trucker is sleeping. Truckers are limited by an 11 hr of drive time clock (that can only be reset after a 10 hour break), a 14 hr clock on their shift times (which can only be reset by a 10 hour break), a 8 hr DOT clock which can only be reset after a 30 minute break, and a 70 hour over 8 day clock (which can only be reset by a 34 hour break). Furthermore, sometimes the truck or trailer breaks down, and the truck will be down for days waiting on a repair. Plus most truckers take hometime once every 3 or 4 weeks for 3 or 4 days. Plus we get in traffic jams due to car wrecks and road construction. Plus we sometimes have to wait many hours at shippers and receivers to get our trailers loaded and unloaded. And I could name dozens of other things that delay us. Most non-truckers don't understand that, but I don't get offended by the fact that they don't understand that.

If anyone has any questions about what it is like to be a long-distance trucker (also called an OTR trucker), you can ask me them, and I won't get offended if my answers are not what you expected.

It's the pace of the conversation that's off-putting.. 'how do people do who are ejected' 'bad' 'well how many have you seen' 'a few' 'thats not very many, anyone else?' - it's also the issue of forcing us to share accounts of days that weren't super fun for us..

Think about this from a physics standpoint. You say you're a trucker, you know how sturdy your windshield is, stuff hits it all the time. Think about the pure energy involved in forcing a human body through a windshield and imagine all the injuries that occur underneath the surface when that occurs. It's generally not good.

Before you ask, I've been doing this job a very long time and been on a lot of crashes. I don't particularly care to play the "how many have I seen" game, but it's probably not that impressive of a number.

 

[MrCurious]

It's the pace of the conversation that's off-putting.. 'how do people do who are ejected' 'bad' 'well how many have you seen' 'a few' 'thats not very many, anyone else?' - it's also the issue of forcing us to share accounts of days that weren't super fun for us..

Think about this from a physics standpoint. You say you're a trucker, you know how sturdy your windshield is, stuff hits it all the time. Think about the pure energy involved in forcing a human body through a windshield and imagine all the injuries that occur underneath the surface when that occurs. It's generally not good.

Before you ask, I've been doing this job a very long time and been on a lot of crashes. I don't particularly care to play the "how many have I seen" game, but it's probably not that impressive of a number.

I'm not forcing anyone here to do anything. I'm asking.

If an EMT does not like to talk about this issue, why would he even open up a thread titled "When a person is ejected through a windshield"?

 

[FiremanMike]

I'm not forcing anyone here to do anything. I'm asking.

If an EMT does not like to talk about this issue, why would he even open up a thread titled "When a person is ejected through a windshield"?

Listen man, I'm sorry about your loss, I really am.

You have your answer. Ejection generally requires significant energy and creates severe injuries that are generally not compatible with life.

Trying to delve into how many different times we've seen it really accomplishes nothing.

 

[CCCSD]

I'm not forcing anyone here to do anything. I'm asking.

If an EMT does not like to talk about this issue, why would he even open up a thread titled "When a person is ejected through a windshield"?

Your “asking” smacks of lurid curiosity. Here you go: brains spattered against a tree. An arm ripped off and the body so mangled it was hard to recognize. A small child sent 50 feet down an embankment and bones so shattered he went “crackle crunch crunch”. A body imbedded in the windshield of the other car, right in the drivers lap, head gone, while she screamed and screamed. That’s just a start. Oh yeah, how about the guy who flew into the street and had his head run over, so flat it was three times the normal size…

Like that? Getting your jollies reading this with your Lot Lizard?

You can Go Now.