DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan State Police trooper who was among the first emergency responders at a chain-reaction wreck that killed three people is recounting his efforts credited with saving a child's life and the grueling decisions faced by rescuers.
In interviews with media including the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, Trooper Seth Swanson said motorists directed him Jan. 31 to a crumpled car with three children inside. After failing to find a pulse on two of them, he broke a window to reach the third.
The girl had a faint pulse and Swanson, who has been a trooper for four years, cleared her airway and administered rescue breaths until she regained consciousness. The girl, identified as Hannah Greenwood, was released from a hospital this week.
It was difficult, Swanson said, to care for her while believing the two other children might be dead.
"It was the hardest decision of my life," he said. "But we're trained to treat the most serious injuries and work from there."
Two of her siblings in the car died in the wreck on a slick Detroit freeway during a sudden snow squall. They were 9-year-old Gabrielle Greenwood of Windsor, Ontario, and her 7-year-old stepbrother Aidan Hicks. The adult driver of the car carrying the children also was released Tuesday from a hospital. A woman in the car was in serious condition.
The pileups on southbound Interstate 75 on Detroit's southwest side included 43 cars, SUVs and semi-trailers in a dozen separate crashes. One of the wrecks also resulted in the death of Larry Manolis, 54, of Allen Park. More than a dozen people also were injured.
"When I approached the scene, it was a total whiteout," Swanson said.
"You couldn't see 10 feet in front of you, and then the snow cleared, and all I could see were cars and trucks scattered all over the highway."
The crashes are under investigation by state police.