Staff writer
Three ambulances — from Marion, Hillsboro, and Florence — were dispatched to Green Acres racetrack near Marion Sunday, where four potentially serious injuries were reported. However, only one injured motocross rider ended up being transported to St. Luke hospital.
In the three other cases the riders or their parents — against the advice of emergency medical technicians — declined ambulance transport, even though the initial calls for help had all but exhausted Marion County’s ambulance fleet.
Marion County Emergency Medical Services Director Steve Smith, who was part of one of the crews Sunday, said EMTs on the scene evaluated four separate injuries and determined that all four motocross riders merited “code red” status — meaning they needed to be transported to a hospital.
EMTs placed two accident victims in cervical collars and backboards. However, the parents of the riders declined treatment. One of the riders was said to be as young as 13, according to transmissions over the EMT radio frequency.
“When a rider’s parents’ refuse ambulance service, we can’t do anything,” racetrack owner Shelly Hardey said.
Marion ambulance responded to a call for a 21-year-old rider at 8:49 a.m. after he sustained a broken arm and a laceration to his chin, according to monitored transmissions. They transported that rider to St. Luke by 9:09.
A Hillsboro ambulance was dispatched to a second call for a 13-year-old who fell off his bike and injured his knee.
According to Hardey, two accidents occurred at different points during the same race.
“A lot of times young kids when they wreck have a tendency to think it’s worse than it is,” Hardey said.
While the Hillsboro ambulance was en route to the track, a third emergency call from the track was fielded for a rider who “wrecked pretty hard and his eyes rolled back into his head,” according to monitored transmissions. A Florence ambulance was dispatched to back up the Hillsboro ambulance.
That rider was 15 to 16 years old, Hardey said. He walked off the track under his own power and sat down to try to relieve his symptoms. The Marion County EMT the track employed Sunday told Hardey that the boy had a concussion and should go to the hospital.
When the Hillsboro ambulance arrived, EMTs learned that the 13-year-old victim had been transported to St. Luke in a private vehicle.
When they assessed the second accident victim as suffering symptoms of a concussion, they put the victim on a backboard and in a cervical collar. However, the parents of the rider removed the medical equipment and declined transport.
“You can’t force these people to do that,” Smith said. “If they decide to go to another facility besides St. Luke they can do that.”
With the rider refusing transport, the Florence ambulance was sent back to its station.
At 2:12 p.m., the Marion County EMT on the scene, not working as a part of a Marion County crew, called that another injured racer had declined to be transported. The EMT said the victim had symptoms of a concussion. The EMT placed the rider in a cervical collar before the victim declined transport.
The EMT was at the track all day but was not given a radio until the Hillsboro ambulance was called. Because the EMT was not working for the county, Smith said, he or she could not bring a radio to the races. Most often, Smith said EMTs on the scene at Green Acres treat less serious injuries at the scene.
Smith said the Hardeys, owners of the track, had approached him to perform the duties as an EMT at the track and Smith declined. He said the absence of detailed paperwork usually submitted with county injuries for injuries at the track left technicians open to lawsuits.
“I would not put my license on the line under the decision of whether they should be transported,” Smith said. “People out there are really taking their license into their own hands, hoping people won’t sue them.”
Shelly Hardey responded that Smith is biased against the track.
“Steve doesn’t like being out there,” Shelly Hardey said. “He’s told us that before. This is a sport like football and everything else.”
Under Kansas High School Activities Association guidelines, county school districts pay ambulance crews to stand by at football games. Smith said Hardey could pay an ambulance to stand by.
“If they want to pay us, they would have to charge a larger entry fee,” Smith said. “I’d have each and every last one of them sign a liability form.”
Shelly Hardey said she asked then former Marion EMS crew chief Gene Winkler if they could pay an ambulance to stay for the duration of races.
According to Hardey, Winkler told the racetrack owner that the county would not leave an ambulance at the track because there were not enough EMTs to commit an ambulance exclusively to the track.
Hardey said she would be willing to pay whatever fee it would take to have an ambulance on scene.
Also, Hardey said every participant and spectator at Green Acres signs a waiver. The waiver informs riders that the track does not provide health insurance and that they must wear protective gear — specifically a helmet, goggles, chest protector, and boots.
Hardey said the number of serious injuries at the track Sunday was an unusually large amount.
“It’s not normal that we had people refuse ambulance service,” Hardey said. “We all thought it was a crazy day.”