CERT trains community for “the big one”
An ordinary morning work commute led Manhattan Beach resident Linda Cunningham to a frightening, but all-too-typical, scene on L.A.’s freeways two years ago. While exiting, she pulled up behind a BMW convertible that had crashed into the center median and had smoke pouring out of it. It had been traveling 90 miles per hour upon impact, she later learned. As she approached, she saw that the broken and twisted guard rail had penetrated the driver’s side window and entered the neck of the driver, a woman in her forties who sat unconscious in the car. Blood gushed from the wound. The front of the car was smashed so badly, it protruded inward, crushing the woman’s lap. Its collapsed roof pinned down her shoulders, so that even if she had been conscious she would have been unable to get out. Cunningham had no idea how long the woman had been in this condition and there was no sign of rescue or medical personnel. She later learned that because of the location of the accident — the end of the 90 freeway in Culver City — authorities were unclear about whether rescue efforts fell under city or county jurisdiction. While they squabbled over which agency should respond, Cunningham, a water…
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