Prison sta er helps colleague survive car crash

Calipatria State Prison on Friday released details regarding the Sept. 6 incident in which a parole division employee saved a sergeant employed at the prison after he was in a near-fatal traffic accident on Highway 111.

While Rosalie Cota was driving to work on Highway 111 in the early morning hours of Sept. 6, she came upon a huge cloud of dust blowing on the roadway, obscuring her vision, forcing her to slow down to a crawl.

As the dust settled, Cota was able to see a vehicle on the opposite side of the road, flipped over and resting on the passenger side, a Calipatria State Prison news release stated.

Cota parked her car on the side of the road and dialed 911 as she rushed to the vehicle to evaluate the situation.

Upon reaching the vehicle, she observed it was occupied by male, later identified as Sgt. Vrooman (first name not disclosed), who was suspended by his seat belt, being suffocated by the deployed airbag.

“I have been driving on the same road for 14 years,” Vrooman said. “This particular day I came across a flooded and muddy wash and I lost control of my vehicle. My vehicle rolled off the road.”

The man then yelled out for help to escape the vehicle.

“I can feel the seat belt holding me up and began to reach around for my Leatherman,” he said.

Vrooman handed Cota his Leatherman utility knife so she could deflate the airbag.

Cota immediately popped the airbag, providing relief to the man. As she pulled the airbag away from him, she saw green pants and instinctively knew the man worked in law enforcement.

In an effort to keep the injured person calm, Cota identified herself as working at Calipatria in the parole division.

Vrooman then identified himself as a sergeant at the prison. He told Cota to break in the windshield. She made several efforts to kick in the windshield without success.

Cota knew she needed to get inside the vehicle to cut the seatbelt that was choking Vrooman.

The wreckage was mangled and compressed like an accordion, with limited space to move around.

Cota was able to open the trunk and crawl in through the back of the SUV.

After finally reaching Vrooman, Cota remained calm, even as she observed blood splattered throughout the vehicle.

When she reached over to cut the seatbelt, she saw a pile of hair hanging from Vrooman’s head and quickly realized his head had been split open.

Controlling the panic and shock most people would have experienced at this point, Cota immediately, but very gently, placed Vrooman’s head back together and wrapped it with a blanket she found on the back seat.

“I reached up and felt a flap of my scalp and blood squirting out,” Vrooman said. “I knew I had not lost consciousness but I didn’t know if I was going to be able to make it out before I bled out. That’s when Rosalie arrived. She is truly a blessing.”

Cota kept Vrooman calm by talking with him for 40 minutes until first responders made it to the accident site.

During this time, no one else stopped to assist.

“Sergeant Vrooman suffered life-threatening injuries and may have succumbed to them had it not been for the selfless, heroic actions of Ms. Cota,” the news release stated.

Vrooman was subsequently airlifted to Desert Regional Hospital. After being evaluated, it was determined that he had sustained four broken ribs, a skull fracture requiring 25 staples to the scalp and a Pneumothorax puncture.

“Once I was in the helicopter, I began to feel the pain from my injuries,” he said. “The nurse said my blood pressure was too low from the loss of blood to give me any pain medicine.”

Vrooman continues to recover and is working on his physical therapy daily, the news release stated.

“Since the accident, Rosalie and I have remained in contact,” he said. “I owe her for saving my life.”