Colorado Army National Guard Soldiers U.S. Army Pfc. Manuel Talamantes and Spc. Shane Valadez, currently serving on the Colorado Military Funeral Honors Team, were on the way back to their duty station at the Chestnut Armory, Colorado Springs, Colorado, after rendering honors at a funeral service in full dress uniform, June 14, 2024.
To avoid traffic on Interstate 25, the Soldiers traveled a different route than they normally would have. This is where they witnessed a head-on collision between a sedan and a large truck not far from their final destination.
The incident happened close enough to them that Valadez had to avoid becoming part of the collision or another potential secondary accident. When the vehicles stopped, the two Soldiers quickly sprang into action to assess the situation and to check on other motorists.
“We jumped out of the car and started controlling the situation,” Valadez said. “I immediately started directing civilians and tried to get everybody out of the way.”
Talamantes quickly ran to the sedan while Valadez went to find first aid materials. In the sedan, Talamantes found a conscious but severely injured female driver. He immediately searched for a way to reach the patient, whose vehicle was crushed around her, and control her bleeding.
“The door was just crushed, the only way to get to her was through the passenger side,” Talamantes said. “I thought about what to do… another civilian brought a first aid kit and I just sprung into action and ran to the other side.”
Talamantes, a combat medic assigned to the COARNG’s 928th Area Medical Support Company in Colorado Springs, also has civilian experience as an emergency medical technician.
“As a medic, you are trained for this exact situation,” Talamantes said. “The 928th focuses a lot on rough terrain extractions.”
Valadez returned to the side of his fellow Soldier bringing gauze and a clean cloth to help stop the bleeding. A Good Samaritan offered some latex gloves to Talamantes so he could provide proper care to the patient.
“Valadez had given me everything I needed from the first aid kit and had spoken to 911,” Talamantes said.
Both Soldiers remained on the scene until first responders arrived to relieve them. They then contacted their Non-commissioned Officer-in-Charge at the honor guard to report what had just transpired.
Talamantes said he wanted to thank his honor guard NCOIC for the way he managed his team after they notified him.
“He was more concerned about how I was rather than the mission of course,” Talamantes said. “I may have done something important that day, but behind me were two good men.”