Advertisement

Edmonton Huskies football team help motorcycle crash victim on Saskatchewan highway

Click to play video: 'Edmonton Huskies football team help motorcycle crash victim on Sask. highway'
Edmonton Huskies football team help motorcycle crash victim on Sask. highway
The Edmonton Huskies football team was in the right place at the right time Sunday night, when their bus came across the a crash between a deer and a motorcycle when returning home from Saskatchewan Sunday night. Sarah Komadina has more on what happened. – Nov 8, 2021

It’s a case of being in the right place at the right time.

Members of the Edmonton Huskies junior football team sprung into action Sunday night, when their bus came upon the scene of a motorcycle crash in Saskatchewan.

The motorcycle had collided with a deer just before 6 p.m. CT, about four kilometres east of Borden on Highway 16, according to the local fire department.

“When we were pulling up, it looked a little chaotic — there were people already trying to help,” Huskies general manager Jason Lorrimer told Global News on Monday.

“(We’ve) got 40 strong guys that can move anything we need and I’ve got trainers to deal with trauma.”

Lorrimer said he asked his athletic therapists if they would help out at the scene “And they said, ‘absolutely.'”

Story continues below advertisement
Members of the Edmonton Huskies football team helping a motorcycle rider who hit a deer on a highway near Borden, Sask. on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021. Courtesy: Jason Lorrimer

The team was just settling in for the five-hour drive home on the Yellowhead after losing 33-31 to the Saskatoon Hilltops in the Prairie Football Conference semifinal.

Sheldon McNabb, a defensive back for the Huskies, said a number of the players had just started playing video games when they came across the scene.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“I saw that the trainers were going out,” McNabb said, adding he’s been studying to become a paramedic and has some practicum experience.

“I thought that with going to school for it, (I would try to) help in any way I could,” he said, adding he grabbed blankets to keep the victim warm. “He was grateful.”

Story continues below advertisement

Huskies athletic therapist Randy Kuefler said when he first approached the victim, he told him what training he had and that he would like to help — something all people with first aid training are supposed to do.

“We just wanted them to be taken care of,” he said.

Kuefler said when firefighters arrived, they requested he remain with them until a STARS Air Ambulance helicopter arrived to airlift the victim to hospital.

“Having other trained medical people is really good,” Borden Fire and Rescue captain Jamie Brandrick said. “I asked them if they would stay.”

“It helps us. The person was calm — that makes it easier for us to do our job.”

Brandrick said having more people with first aid training on scene helps when rolling a victim on their back to avoid spinal cord trauma, or prevent further damage.

Story continues below advertisement

“Thankfully the injuries aren’t that severe,” the firefighter said, while also noting the trained members of the Huskies would have been able to help with CPR if the victim had not been breathing.

McNabb said he has questioned in the past if he really wants to become a paramedic, but Sunday’s events have given him more to think about.

“It might be a little bit of a sign that I need to keep going with it and take that path,” he said. “It kind of puts into perspective that we’re more than just a team.

Story continues below advertisement

“We did what any person would do… (but) it really reinforces that team and family aspect that the Huskies have, and it feels nice.

Sponsored content

AdChoices