Nurses rush to help after van flips

PARK LAYNE, Ohio (WDTN) - A violent crash in Bethel Township brought out the nurse's instinct in a woman used to applying Band-aids and comforting sick students.

Dianna Accurso, a school nurse, rushed to the scene on Dille Road and State Route 235 just outside Park Layne Elementary.

With skidding tires, a violent impact and smoke pouring form underneath the car, it didn’t take long for Accurso to hear about the crash.

“My natural nursing instinct was to run out and provide what help I could until further medical help arrived,” she said.

When Accurso got to the scene, she found an elderly couple, trapped in the vehicle and bleeding.

And also offering aid was Janette Radford, a Miami Valley Hospital nurse who was just finishing her shift when she drove up on the crash.

“You just stop and you help, you see what you can do and at least be there for them and let them know that someone’s here for them,” Radford explained.

When medics arrived, the nurses helped first responders without hesitation.

Crash investigators say the driver of a Nissan Altima pulled out to turn left onto 235 from Dille Road, and didn't see the elderly couple’s van coming because of a school bus that was turning

Careflight flew the male victim to Miami Valley Hospital; his wife was taken by ambulance.
The injuries are not something Accurso is used to seeing in her work at Park Layne.

“It is very different. The adrenaline really gets pumping when you're in situations like this but the focus is to be there for the two victims that are in the car,” she said.

So with their focus on those patients, the nurses used the victims' cell phone to call their son, and when he arrived, Radford talked him through what he was seeing, offering words of comfort and a gentle touch.

When asked about her actions, Accurso simply said, “It's a nursing thing. It doesn't matter what kind of nurse you are. It's a nursing thing. It's in the heart,”

The driver of the Nissan was not injured. Troopers said she will be cited for failure to yield.