Medico saves driver trapped in mishap

PUNE: When Dr Abhijit Joshi was returning home from his early-morning gym routine on Tuesday morning, he hadn't the faintest idea that his medical skills would be put to the test so early in the day.
A little ahead of SP College, Joshi saw some people crowded around two buses one a PMPML bus and the other a private Volvo that had collided head-on an hour earlier.
"Since it was an accident, I enquired if anyone was injured and needed medical help," said Joshi, who resides at Khadakmalaali on Tilak road. "I was told that the PMPML bus-driver's right leg had got stuck in the entangled metal mass and that it was not possible to extricate him."
The driver, Sanjay Khandage (35), was on the Swargate-Gokhalenagar route when the Volvo, which was coming from the wrong direction, hit the PMPML bus head-on near Girija juice centre. Khandage was trapped in his seat for almost an hour till Joshi came on the scene.
Joshi called up his uncle's hospital which is located nearby. "Within a few minutes, I had all the medical paraphernalia by my side. When I got into the cabin, I found the driver trapped and stuck to his seat. He had multiple lacerations on his head and ears. His right leg had an open fracture with bones jutting out," said Joshi.
The doctor felt the driver's pulse and found it was feeble because of hypo-volumic shock. "I tried to stabilise him by giving him pain-killer injections and even started an intravenous line, which helped raise his sinking blood pressure," said Joshi.
While Joshi was busy administering essential medical help to the driver, the fire department personnel were busy disengaging the buses with the help of a crane. Retired chief fire officer L.N. Raut, who was on his morning walk, had summoned the fire-brigade to come to Khandage's rescue.
"Once the buses were disengaged, it gave me enough leverage to set the driver's leg free from the metal mass," said Joshi. "This entire exercise took 40 minutes. An ambulance had already been summoned and I took him to Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital. He was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit and I have been monitoring his condition ever since."
The driver's condition is stable now, said Joshi, with a glint in his eye.