La. Paramedic Describes Crash That Injured Him, Five Others

June 28--An Acadian Ambulance medic injured in a Sunday crash involving an alleged drunk driver recently described the incident, which also injured five others, according to a report.

"I didn't even realize I was injured until somebody told me," John Piker told WBRZ-TV.

Piker, who suffered a gash in his arm requiring 12 stitches, a broken toe and six shattered teeth, told the station that he and his partner had stopped to help a vehicle involved in a separate crash early Sunday. The two medics were outside their vehicle for only a few minutes before another car plowed into the crash scene on Interstate 10 East near the split with Interstate 12.

"As soon as we got to the car and talked to the driver of the first vehicle before we knew anything, we were hit by a car," Piker told WBRZ.

William Smith, 26, is accused of driving his Chevrolet pickup into a Mazda 6 soon after it crashed into a guardrail and striking people standing nearby. He allegedly drove around a police cruiser parked behind the wrecked car, hitting the driver of that car, a Good Samaritan who stopped to help, an Acadian Ambulance EMT and a Baton Rouge police officer.

He then drove away from the scene, striking a second Good Samaritan and an Acadian paramedic, Baton Rouge police spokesman Cpl. L'Jean McKneely said Sunday.

Piker's partner remains in the Intensive Care Unit at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, WBRZ reported. Four others were injured in the crash, including a Baton Rouge Police Department officer who had also stopped to help at the initial crash scene.

Smith was booked into Parish Prison on counts of first-offense DWI, negligent vehicular injuring, hit and run, reckless operation, driver's license suspended or revoked and failure to maintain control.

Copyright 2016 - The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.