Summer Hires Spring Into Action After Crash

When Tyler Jones and Andrew Tselentis sat down for lunch in their crew truck August 4, they expected it to be a routine break in the workday. Seconds later that all changed.

Stepping up when seconds mattered

The two M.U.D. summer employees were parked near a regulator station just south of 108^th and Center when a car crashed near the Rockbrook entrance. Looking toward the sound, they saw one vehicle had flipped. 
 
“We both kind of heard the noise and then looked at each other, and we knew something was wrong,” Andrew said. 
 
They immediately went into action, retrieved the first aid kit from their crew truck and ran to the scene. By the time they arrived, the driver, a man in his 70s, had pulled himself from the vehicle. A nurse who also stopped was attempting to control his bleeding with tissues. 
 
They provided bandages from the M.U.D. first aid kit and then applied a tourniquet to the injured man. An ambulance arrived shortly after. 

Prepared through training

For Andrew, a pre-med student at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, the response brought together training he had received both at M.U.D. and outside of work. Just a few months earlier, he completed a Certified Nursing Assistant course that provided him with additional medical and first aid knowledge. 
 
“My adrenaline was extremely high. My mind was just, ‘Go, go, go,’” Andrew recalled. “I knew right away when I saw the car flipped over that somebody was probably seriously injured.” 
 
Andrew is in his third summer with M.U.D.’s Summer Hire Program. Tyler, a University of Nebraska at Omaha civil engineering student, is in his second summer and has been working with the corrosion group in Infrastructure Integrity. 
 
While Andrew’s medical training proved especially valuable, both said the safety habits they developed working at M.U.D. enabled them to respond quickly and without hesitation. 
 
“It helped because we weren’t questioning things,” Tyler said. “We acted pretty fast, and we didn’t have to second-guess or scramble to find the first aid kit.” 

Safety habits build confidence

Preparation starts before an emergency. Those habits are reinforced every day through the crew’s strong safety culture. Their supervisor, Brandon Christensen, says Tyler and Andrew demonstrate those habits every day.

“We’re always in and out of traffic, so it’s imperative to have our cones out and have our safety vests on and communicate with each other,” Brandon said. “We work really well as a team.” 

A culture of teamwork

That teamwork extends beyond following procedures. Crew members emphasized the importance of watching out for one another and recognizing hazards that someone else might not see. For Tyler and Andrew, spending their summer side-by-side has helped build trust. 
 
“Just being together pretty much every day, sitting in the same truck and talking, we’ve gotten pretty close to each other,” Tyler said. 

Serving the community beyond utility work

Kendall Minor, Chief Operations Officer, said the incident is a reminder that the role of a utility employee can extend beyond what people traditionally associate with gas and water service. 
 
“From an operational standpoint, we’re in the field a lot,” Kendall said. “This is not the first time or incident we’ve had field crews go out and respond to an emergency like this and help the public.”
 
Kendall said having employees who are trained, prepared, and willing to act is an important part of M.U.D.’s presence in the community. 
 
“I’m very grateful for the fact that we have teams that know how to respond and are willing to get out there and help the community when we have emergencies like this,” Kendall said. “Potentially saving someone’s life is huge, and we don’t ever take that for granted.” 

Recognition for going above and beyond

Both Tyler and Andrew were presented with the District’s Outstanding Service Award marking their actions that went above and beyond the call of duty.