By
Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexa Trafton
GULFPORT, Miss. – Two Sailors
assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1 helped to rescue a civilian involved in a car accident on
Highway 49 in Hattiesburg Mississippi, on December 8, 2017.
Earlier
that morning, Equipment Operator 3rd Class Cristian Benton, from Edmond,
Oklahoma, and Equipment Operator Constructionman Daniel Sellmeyer, from
Overland Park, Kansas, received orders to take a fuel truck up to Camp Shelby
in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to refuel a convoy scheduled return to Naval
Mobile Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Mississippi, later that
afternoon.
“We
got to work, and at our morning muster the group was asked who had the ability
to drive the fuel truck up to Camp,” said Benton. “I volunteered and picked
Sellmeyer to go with me. We were told to be cautious with the worsening road
conditions and to drive up as safely as possible and to return in the same
manner.”
Southern
Mississippi at the time was experiencing a freeze warning and unusual weather
which resulted in the Gulf Coast seeing snow for the first time in several
years.
While
driving north on Highway 49, Benton and Sellmeyer maneuvered in the icy
conditions into the median to avoid a potential accident with a car traveling
ahead of them. While attempting to return the truck back into the flow of
traffic, an unusual sound roared over the ambient noise of the truck and
traffic.
“Over
the hum of the running truck we all of a sudden heard tires screeching,” said
Sellmeyer. “And just like that we heard a crash and saw the vehicle, with a
passenger inside, go into an embankment and then into a creek.”
As the
car settled into the creek, and began flooding, the Seabees took action. Benton
went running into the water that was approximately chest deep to check on
driver. The conscious driver was unable to extract himself from car that was
being overcome with water. Benton searched for something to break a window when
his attention was drawn to a car battery that had been ejected during the
crash.
“I
heard Sellmeyer yelling ‘Hey! Use the battery!’ I saw it just lying there” said
Benton. “I ran up, grabbed it and used it to smash the window and get to the driver.
Things were just happening so quickly.”
After
the driver was pulled to safety, Sellmeyer began to examine him for further
injuries.
“Prior
to joining the military, I was an emergency medical technician,” said
Sellmeyer. “Something I never thought would come in handy here, but to my
surprise I found myself in a situation using my knowledge and experiences to
help save a life.”
After
they had examined the driver, Benton and Sellmeyer brought him up to the cabin
of the fuel truck to warm him up, and call emergency services and his family
members.
“We
got lucky, I hate to think what would have happened to this man had we not been
there,” said Sellmeyer. “We were just in
the right place at the right time, with the right set of skills.”