MICHIGAN PARAMEDIC INJURED DURING PILE-UP TALKS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED
A Coopersville paramedic is recovering from injuries he received when he was hit by a car over the weekend. Jim Schippers was treating a patient during Sunday's 50-vehicle accident on I-96 near Coopersville when he was also hit.
Police dispatch tapes, obtained by WZZM 13, demonstrate how chaotic things were at the time of the crash. Dispatcher: "It's real treacherous out here. We need some medics up this way. It's Right underneath the bridge we've got multiple injuries."
Cars piled up quickly as white-out conditions blinded drivers. Dispatcher: "We have extra personnel coming out with backboards," Jim Schippers began his career as a paramedic 32 years ago, but says he's never seen anything like what happened on Sunday, "I was throwed back. I don't know if I flew. I was throwed back and hit my back against a car and just went down on the ground." He goes on to say, "I heard the crash, and as I looked there was a big crowd of smoke and debris in the air, and I got hit at the same time."
Schippers was treating victims at the very front of the 50 car pile-up, when more cars kept coming,” and at that point his vehicle hit me and threw me up against another vehicle and when I got up I was in a diamond shape area. I had to crawl over the cars to get out."
Police say white-out conditions caused the pile-up. Despite the number of cars involved, no one was seriously hurt in the crash. Schippers says even though there were some frightening moments Sunday, he still loves his job, "I enjoy the work I enjoy helping people."
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