‘It could have been worse’: First responders, passenger reflect on Hermann trolley crash

GASCONADE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Nearly a week after a trolley crash in Hermann injured more than 30 people, local first responders and hospital officials say the outcome could have been far worse without a critical partnership formed in 2022.

On Saturday, May 3, a trolley bus carrying 41 passengers veered off the road, injuring 32 people. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred near Eagles Nest Drive at 10:45 a.m. after the driver -- a 45-year-old Hermann man -- overcorrected after leaving the right side of the road, causing the vehicle to crash into a ditch.

Brook Emshoff was on the trolley celebrating her birthday with a group of friends and described the experience as terrifying. 

“The driver was speeding down those very windy roads. And I remember hearing something hit the gravel and feeling the whole trolley lurch to the side. Then I felt him overcorrect, and all of a sudden we were in the woods,” Emshoff said. “The driver really actually did a good job of putting the trolley where he did.  We didn't flip. We didn't end up in the tree. So, the injuries could have been much worse.” 

Four individuals suffered serious injuries, 11 sustained moderate injuries and 17 had minor injuries. All were rescued from the wreckage within 40 minutes of emergency crews arriving.

“It was very quiet on the trolley until people started figuring out they were injured. The shock, I would say there's maybe five, 10 seconds before everyone started screaming,” Emshoff said. “We had a guy behind me with a dislocated knee, a couple of spinal fractures, pelvic fractures.”

Emshoff said she suffered minor injuries, but went into shock shortly after the crash. 

“I know I spoke to my mom on the phone, but I have no recollection of doing it,” Esmhoff said. “So much thanks to the firemen and the staff at the hospitals, and honestly, all of the people that were that trolley,  we kind of had to take care of each other, become very fast friends.” 

Mike Miller -- who has been with the Hermann Area Ambulance District for 15 years -- described a swift, and coordinated EMS response involving five ambulances from three districts and a medical helicopter staged at the local hospital.

“We requested local ambulances and then we also requested a helicopter just because we weren't know what we were going to be getting into that time," Miller said. “So, we actually had three ambulances staged at the hospital and with the helicopter. And then we had two ambulances from Hermann, an ambulance from Owens, an ambulance from New Haven, [and an] ambulance from Jerrold respond to the scene.”

Miller emphasized the effectiveness of the response, despite the inherent challenges of scenes with a high number of patients.

“The challenge was more just the organization on the scene," he said. "But due to the timing of ambulances coming in and based on when they got there, we were able to get patients transported out almost in a seamless manner.”

“Any mass casualty like that's going to be a little bit chaotic at first," Miller said. "So the biggest thing is: Take a deep breath and this is what you got to work with and move forward with it.”

Hermann Hospital CEO Bill Hellebusch, who was home gardening when he received the call, called the crash response “a really unique situation.”

“This is the kind of thing that every hospital administrator hopes they never get called for,” Hellenbusch told ABC 17 News.  

Hellebusch credited the hospital’s partnership with MU Health Care, formed in November 2022 to staff the emergency department, for helping cut the response-and-treatment time in half.

“We would not have had the same result without MU. I just know that,” Hellebush said. “If we didn't have the two additional [providers] come, what would have happened is the day would have become a lot longer.”

Hellebusch said the hospital treated more than 20 patients in under four hours and received support from more than 40 people, including volunteers who provided food, water, and family communication assistance.

Michelle Seithel, a physician assistant with MU Health who was dispatched to help, was struck by the outpouring of assistance.

“When I got there and was, you know, trying to figure out who needed to be seen, I had so many people, hospital staff, nurses, asking me, What do I need?” Seithel said.

MU Health Care nurse practitioner Sheila Struckmeyer, who was on the front lines of triage, highlighted the unique challenges rural hospitals face in crises.

“I've been involved in mass casualty stuff before. However, typically when you have that, you have quite a few resources readily available,” Struckmeyer said. “This is the first time that I'd had a situation like this at a critical access hospital with limited resources.”

Struckmeyer noted injuries ranged from spinal and pelvic fractures to cuts and bruises.

“My focus was like the sickest of the sick need to be taken care of first,” she said.

While Hellebusch acknowledged there are aspects they would handle differently in the future, he praised the exceptional level of teamwork.

“With the amount of support we have from this community, if you don't wake up and find it easy to jump out of bed and come do this work, you have got to check yourself to make sure you still have a pulse,” Hellebusch said. “This last Saturday, it was  it was just another shining example of that.”