“The state trooper’s car is on fire and. I think he might burn alive.”
The wrong-way driver had collided head-on with the young trooper leaving Jason unconscious and trapped inside. A few cars behind was former Army medic, Sergeant First Class, Joe Yeichner.
“Once I pushed the window open, within 30 seconds after getting Jason out, the driver’s seat was in flames,” says Joe.
Joe stabilized Jason’s neck for 15 minutes until EMS and other troopers arrived.
“Jason was bleeding from his right arm, his shoulder, but his right leg was a mess,” says Joe. “‘Buddy, you’re going to be all right. There’re other troopers here. Relax, you’re okay.’”
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Rare bacterial infections of the heart are surging among people who abuse opioids and other intravenous drugs, a trend that may also be leading to more strokes in this population, according to preliminary results from a study presented in March at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference.
The study focused on 351 patients treated for endocarditis, or bacterial infections of the heart, at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center from January 1, 2014, through July 1, 2018. During the study period, the proportion of patients who had endocarditis caused by intravenous (IV) drug abuse climbed by 630 percent.
Overall, 170 patients in the study, or 48 percent, had endocarditis due to IV drug abuse. Among this group, 26 percent of patients had a stroke, almost twice the rate of stroke among patients who had endocarditis due to other causes.