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When the call came in of a crash between two charter buses carrying more than 100 people, City Ambulance and local hospitals sprang into action to accommodate the rush of injured Wednesday.

As the sole ambulance provider for Port Arthur, City Ambulance has units dedicated to the city. City Ambulance Vice President Andre Ruby said they had four on scene of the crash along Texas 73 in 10 minutes. A fifth unit was added shortly after the 10 minute mark. 

“But we also had our shift commander respond to this call and immediately started the triage process. Right off the bat, we had a total of 150 patients on the scene and effectively transported 60 plus patients within a period of 30 minutes,” Ruby said. 

As word of a possible mass casualty incident went out, Ruby was contacted by the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council who had already dispatched a multi-purpose vehicle from Atascocita and one from Acadian Ambulance-Beaumont. The call for the AMBUS vehicles was canceled as they were not needed due to leadership and a decision to transport those not in critical condition by a coach bus to different hospitals.

All in all 28 patients were sent to The Medical Center of Southeast Texas, 33 to Baptist Hospital and 14 to St. Elizabeth Hospital. Three of the ones set to St. Elizabeth was in more of a medical need for treatment at that time.

Brent Cope, CEO of The Medical Center, said the hospital declared an external disaster and brought in additional resources to support increased patients’ needs. 

“All patients were stable or stabilized quickly, managed in a timely manner, and all were discharged. MCSET coordinated with police and first responders;  our nurses, physicians, and staff all acted quickly to help in this emergency situation,” Cope said.

Ruby explained all paramedics and EMT’s train for scenarios such as the one that happened Wednesday with multiple injuries.

“If you prepare for the incident, you will practice as you actually perform,” he said. “And so our team last night (Wednesday) showed that, and they delivered. And as the individual who oversees the whole EMS agency statewide, one the largest. I can’t tell you how proud I am of every one of them.”

Katie Brewer, shift commander with City Ambulance, said they have a great relationship and partnership with local hospitals so when she called to let them know of the situation, they jumped into action. The patients were spread out amongst the facilities so as not to overload one facility. 

The crash occurred at about 4:20 p.m Wednesday on Texas 73 east near the Bob Bowers Civic Center. Port Arthur Police Chief said it appears one bus hit a second bus and a third bus, trying to avoid the crash, veered off the road. The exact cause of the crash is under investigation.