Accident victim will need surgery to repair leg

While the National Fire Service continues to take heat for its delayed response to the Prince Street blaze, tonight the department also has to fend off flak for a traffic accident involving one of its drivers and a pedestrian.

Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Fifty year old Michael Young better known “Indio” told News Five today that he was standing in awe of the fire that ravaged Prince Street when he heard someone yelling, “Get out of the way”.

Michael Young, Accident Victim
“They said, “get of the way because the fire engine is coming.” But where I was situated I was in no engine way and when the engine instead of it take the full turn on the middle of the traffic, he take right on the edge where I was and then the front of his vehicle hit my bicycle handle, because I was sitting on my bicycle and then I fell on the ground and when the back wheel come up, the two back wheel run over my leg, my left leg right there and fractured my leg.”

According to the victim, doctors have warned him of the possibility that he will remain hospitalized for at least the next four months.

Michael Young
“Well what the doctor say right now is I need another operation on it to pin back the bone because I know they only sew up back the flesh because I get a long cut from my ankle to my knee and they sew that back together, but the bone isn’t pin as yet. But now when they tell me that this morning, when he come, the bone specialist, say I need four unit of blood.”

Jacqueline Godwin
“So the doctors are optimistic that they will be able to save your leg?”

Michael Young
“Right, right, so he say if I could move it, I could move my toes and so on. So they are going to give me the other one, but I need four units of blood to take the other one to put back the bone back together.”

Young makes his living by doing errands for residents and businesses. Tonight he’s hoping the National Fire Service will assist him financially until he gets back on his feet.

Michael Young
“I was a spectator looking on, what everybody else do, what the public usually do when they go and watch fire. And I was just coming off of my errand that I usually that I was going to do with I just stopped right there for five minutes when here comes this fire engine, having no due care and attention and just fly pass and hook my bicycle handle and haul me down into the back wheel.”

According to Deputy Fire Chief Ted Smith, the fire truck’s driver, who he declined to identify by name, has reported that he did not even know he had hit someone as he tried to get to the fire scene.

Ted Smith
“The police will conduct an investigation and I am sure they, could speak for themselves, though the file will be submitted to the D.P.P. as per normal and I don’t know, they will decide. That’s where the case lies right now, with the police.”

Michael Young
“The guy was driving so fast that probably he concentrated only on the fire and not about the pedestrians that were along, sitting on the side on the bridge and standing on the side of the street to get the to the fire and do the fire right. “

Young was assisted by two police officers who carried him to their mobile unit and transported him to the hospital.

If you would like to donate blood towards the four units that Young will need to undergo surgery, please contact him at the K.H.M.H.