A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper sent to the scene of a Nashville area car crash is credited with saving the life of a driver whose neck was punctured by an antler of a deer that went through her windshield.
When Trooper Russell Bernard arrived at the scene, the driver of the crashed car was bleeding heavily from a large puncture wound in her neck, according to a news release from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Bernard applied pressure to the wound until emergency medical services personnel arrived.
The deer had been hit by another vehicle and thrown through the victim's windshield. Its antlers also punctured the driver's seat, according to the release.
"I commend Trooper Bernard for taking swift action to save the life of the injured driver," THP Colonel Tracy Trott said. "Trooper Bernard was able to apply his cadet training and respond quickly using the proper technique and protocol. I am proud of the work we do every day to save lives on our Tennessee roadways."
The driver, who had a torn artery, was taken by EMS personnel to a Dickson, Tenn., hospital and later flown to Skyline Hospital in Nashville for emergency surgery, the release states.