Crash victim was Nevada police officer's father

By Lynn A. Wade

Nevada Daily Mail

A Nevada police officer is grieving for his father in the wake of Friday's tragic traffic crash. A southbound tractor-trailer, coming onto Osage Boulevard from U.S. 71 swerved to miss a passenger car that had pulled away from a stop sign at Osage and Atlantic. The truck and trailer careened into the north wall of the Quick Dine restaurant, coming to rest with the front of the cab several feet into the building. Several people inside were injured, and 54-year-old Joseph Cole, the father of Nevada police officer Travis Cole, was killed.

Travis Cole was off duty at the time of the crash, and told Kansas City television station KCTV that his father went to the diner for coffee almost daily, and that he often sat in the same booth.

"I just knew it. I knew where he sits in the diner and the truck was right through there," said Travis Cole. "I had someone call and ask if I was working the accident up there. I wasn't, but as I saw the scene and the truck, I knew right away. My dad was always there," he said.

Nevada Police Depart-ment public information officer Sgt. Steve Bastow said Cole is currently off duty on emergency leave. "We'll support him however we can, with any needs that he has," Bastow said.

Vernon County Ambu-lance District Director James McKenzie said its employees, still feeling the effects of the loss of one of their own, Justin Hueston, who was killed in a Sept. 25 motorcycle crash, will support Cole, his family and coworkers in any way they can as well.

McKenzie said that while every death is tragic, as fellow emergency responders, "Our hearts go out to them, and we'll be behind them all the way."

Cole has been with the Nevada Police Department since 2007.

The NPD also has arranged to have counseling resources available for officers. So far those services haven't been needed, but sometimes officers react later to such situations, Bastow said.

At the scene, he said, "your training kicks in," and officers go about the business of their respective roles at the scene.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol led the investigation; and several other agencies, including the Vernon County Sheriff's Office, the Nevada Fire Department, Milo Fire Department Nevada Police Department, Vernon County Ambulance District and two regional air ambulance services all "worked pretty well together," Bastow said. "It went about as smoothly as it could go; there were no issues in terms of rescue," he said.

Nevada Fire Chief William Thornton said the department had six personnel on the scene of the accident at Quick Dine Friday. The department's rescue truck, two engines and a ladder truck also responded.

It was a challenging situation, though, in many ways. At one point, law enforcement officers shooed away onlookers because of a concern about a natural gas leak, and rescue workers dealt with narrow, enclosed spaces at the scene.

McKenzie said he believes that in Friday's incident, training to conduct rescues in confined spaces and training in other aspects of the mechanics of rescues paid off. He agreed that police, fire, ambulance district, sheriff's office and other responders worked quickly and in tandem to clear away debris and get to injured people, all without any injuries to the rescuers themselves. Four members of the Milo Fire Department responded for mutual aid to provide manpower as well, Thornton noted. Firefighters helped secure the building and moved debris and helped with the removal of the three patients and Cole's body from the structure.

McKenzie said that in particular, he recalls the determined, passionate demeanor of one of the police officers. He didn't know the officer's name, but said the officer's desire to do whatever was asked of him during the rescue effort was written clearly in the expression on his face.

Local emergency workers are "a great asset; I knew that was how it was," but the teamwork he saw during Friday's incident confirmed that in McKenzie's mind.

"That's one of the great things about a small community. Everybody rallies together when you need them," McKenzie said.

And they certainly were needed Friday evening.

Luckily, extra ambulance district personnel already were available, because a crew was preparing to stand by at the Nevada High School football game. Air ambulance services in Nevada and Joplin were contacted immediately and notified they might be needed; as it turned out, both were used.

In training scenarios, everything goes the way it's supposed to; but in reality, McKenzie said, it can come down to using a hammer and a bucket to clear away debris, bit by bit.

An understanding of construction helps, but neither that nor an abundance of rescue training truly prepares responders for such an incident. Nevertheless, the VCAD alone had 14 people and four at the scene, and "it all went extremely well," with the first patient out of the debris at 17:38; and the third patient out 10 minutes later. There was a great deal of debris inside, and in the kitchen area, rescuers were dealing with kitchen appliance as well; and much thought had to be given to mechanics of the rescue.

The Vernon County Ambulance District's response system is geared to handle up to 20 victims; after that, additional mutual aid would have been needed.

As of Saturday evening fellow diner John Becker, 72, of Nevada, was listed in critical condition, while Roger Berning, 60, of El Dorado Springs, was in good condition. Both Becker and Berning had been transported by air ambulance to Freeman Hospital in Joplin on Friday. A fourth person, Pamela Hoover, 47, of Nevada, was taken to Nevada Regional Medical Center from the scene of Friday's crash.

Some other people at the restaurant at the time reported minor injuries as well. Neither the truck driver nor the driver of the vehicle the truck swerved to miss were injured.

McKenzie said area responders need to focus their training on tragedies likely to happen in this area -- things like Friday's crash, or a crash involving multiple vehicles, or a natural disaster. "You have to be prepared, for what realistically could happen in your community," he said.