Hawaii’s governor, a former ER doctor, helps man injured in car accident – for the second time in three weeks

By Andy Rose, CNN

(CNN) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green assisted a man who was injured after falling from the bed of a pickup truck Thursday, marking the second time in three weeks the former emergency room physician responded to a roadside emergency.

The most recent incident happened as Green was traveling in Kauai and a man sitting on a chair in the back of a pickup truck in front of the governor’s vehicle was thrown from the truck, the governor’s spokesperson, Makana McClellan, said in a statement.

The 25-year-old man hit his head on the pavement and was unconscious, McClellan said.

“The Governor and his team called 911 and helped to carry the man safely from the road. Governor Green preformed a neurological assessment, assessed the man’s respiratory status, and calmed him and his family until EMS arrived about 10 minutes later,” McClellan said in a statement.

The man appeared to have a concussion and possible rib injuries, the governor’s office said.

“Young people should never be in the back of a pickup truck,” Green said in the statement. “I would prefer that nobody ride in a truck bed, because people need to be belted in.”

Green also touted the use of seat belts after helping rescue a man who was trapped in an overturned vehicle last month.

The governor was headed to an event on the Big Island when his group came upon a car that had flipped into an inactive lava field, Green told CNN’s Paula Reid.

“This gentleman was suspended upside down in his seat,” Green said. “Thank God he had his seat belt on.”

Green and his entourage joined a good Samaritan who was also at the scene to help evaluate the driver and pull him out of the crushed vehicle.

Video from the governor’s office showed the driver was able to walk with assistance to an ambulance.

“There was a lot of gasoline (that spilled) there in the field, so I give credit to the other guys who dove right in there,” said Green. “Everyone really deserves credit for that more than me. It’s a small state, so we jump to.”

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