Nurse crawls out of massive Texas
pile-up, goes to work

Why didn't she stay on scene and administer first aid?

Good question No. 2 - while I can’t answer it may be because many others were stuck and waiting on EMS, she needed to get care before, she may have been assisting once she was at the hospital, EMS may have told her to get because she was still in danger - multitude of reasons that we can’t imagine under those incredible circumstances.

Her foot was through the floorboard trying to stop. She should have been pumping her brakes. I guess they don't teach you how to stop on slippery roads in TX.

Her foot should not have been on the brake in a spin out.

Was she on time? Chances are her car pumped it's own brakes overruling her understandable lack of relevant experience. I hate ABS brakes, apparently I'm arrogant enough to presume I can handle it better than an inanimate object.

Black ice is not common in those parts (I lived in Ft Worth and I'm from Tulsa originally.)

There is a question of liability and insurance to give unsolicited aid on the road. That is the job of EMS personnel. She did the right thing.

It is true we don’t know how to drive on ice and snow in DFW. It is so rare and lasts such a short time it hardly seems worthwhile, like owning a really heavy coat if you don’t work outside. On ice only chains can help and nobody has them. (I defer to knowledgeable winter drivers as to proper equipment). And there isn’t much road equipment for the same reason.

Keep your foot off the brakes (light pumping if you must) and steer in the direction of the slide. It works.

New cars you don't pump the brakes any more. The computer does that for you. With the new braking system you put the pedal down and hold it. Next why didn't she stay?? With what? A handkerchief. Unless you carry emergency equipment in the car with you there isn't much you can do. Bandages and Hurst tools and fracture boards are needed . Bad help can be worse than no help at all.

Skin color? Only important fact...

My daughter has been an RN for over 20 years now and I am sure she would have been right there trying to help. The problem is that way too many regulations are in place right now that prohibit anyone from playing good Sam unless they want to run the risk of a lawsuit from somebody. That is a shame too. Given how many vehicles were involved, there was probably more than the EMT's could handle too. That is why she didn't administer first aid previous commenters. The laws do not protect good Sams much anymore.

Yes #7, although there are some Docs and nurses whose heart to serve the suffering causes them to help anyway. They just cannot walk away when seconds count for the critically injured. I am not picking on this woman. I am just saying there are probably other trained people helping out along that scene. The press does not know everything.

#3, no "pumping the brakes" was proper technique 20 or 30 years ago. DO NOT pump brakes in modern cars equipped with ABS. The Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) is installed ALL cars since 2010, and was in many cars before that for many years. That automatic system will do better than almost any human can, and if you just push as hard as you can on the brakes, you will get the shortest stopping possible. The ABS system 'pumps the brakes' and measures the speed of each individual wheel, and holds each brake right at the point of lockup, and if it locks, it instantly lets it roll, the reapplies braking. It works independently on each wheel, since the traction may be very different in each location. Very good systems. So, unless you have a car older than 2010 model, and even then it had to be a really lowest cost model to leave it off, your car will almost certainly have ABS. One serious problem is poor driver training. When the ABS is operating it often makes the brake pedal pulsate, and some systems make funny, sometimes fairly loud noises - which most drivers have rarely/never felt or heard before, so they Are surprised, and let off when "the brake pedal does some weird stuff".....which INCREASES the stopping distance. Unless you are certain that your car does not have ABS, the proper modern technique is to jam hard on the brakes and keep it hard on until you stop. Ignore funny noises, pedal pulsations and anything else. Let the system do it's work. You paid a bunch of money for it, and they work between very well and great in slick condition. And you CAN steer (as much as the road surface will permit) while hard braking, too. I recommend that any driver unfamiliar with their ABS system seek out a wet or snowy parking lot with nobody behind you and nothing nearby to hit and intentionally jump on the brakes in low traction conditions at about 25 mph or so to learn what their ABS system feels and sounds like so they will 'power through' it if they need it, not be surprised and lift off brake pressure - thereby extending their braking distance unnecessarily.

#5, for a while, in testing, the best racing drivers could outbrake an early generation ABS system. Now days, the systems are better than any human can be, measuring each wheel speed and pulsing the brakes at very high speeds. I consider myself a skilled driver, have driven lots of very high performance cars, and on a number of race tracks here and overseas. I finally gave up on the idea and know that the ABS is better than I am. Perhaps some of the top Formula 1 drivers could still beat an ABS, but I doubt it. And certainly mere mortals will not. There are a many auto racing specifications which do not permit ABS braking systems, in order to require higher driver skill - separate the men from the boys, so to speak. At one point, race cars had traction control which prevented wheel spin from too much throttle, and ABS which prevented skidding from too much braking, and the racing technique had devolved to "100% throttle or 0% throttle" and "100% brake or 0% brake".....and just let the computers optimize everything. No skill was used in throttle application and no skill was used in brake application. This makes a mediocre driver equal to a really skilled driver in braking and throttle control.....not a good thing on the race track where the whole POINT is to show who is more skilled. On the highway - the point is to not have an accident, so helping drivers be better with traction control and ABS is a good thing. All cars have had traction control and ABS in the USA since 2010, and most (maybe all?) also add 'vehicle stability assist', which is basically a yaw sensor that can tell if the car is starting to skid and can apply INDIVIDUAL brakes to try to prevent this yawing. This has limited capability, but it can really help the typical driver avoid SOME loss of control situations. I did a training session where we turned off the stability control and did a pass through cones faster and faster until the car tried to spin out. Then with the stability control on....we could go faster since individual wheel braking was helping us not yaw too much, something that the steering wheel and brake pedal cannot do. Considering that most American drivers have never had ANY real driver training except maybe what dear old Dad may have given them in a couple of short sessions, or a HS 'driver training' instructor taught them, this automation is a good thing. Everyone could benefit from a real driver training course, on a race track. And, amazingly most American drivers are convinced that they are 'well above average', even without any training. 🙄 And the average in the USA is pretty low, and dropping substantially in the last 20 years. I've been through a number of driving schools on race tracks - and you absolutely do learn things. Every driver should do it. It can be great fun and makes you a much better driver. Two years ago, my wife really enjoyed driving a 615 HP BMW on a racetrack in England at VERY high speed, in light rain. She did very well, and honed her already good skills even more. Well worth the $350 spent.

OK all, I don't live far from the area where this occurred and it was damned cold that morning. There's a good chance this nurse wasn't properly dressed to 'stick around' and administer first aid while she herself may have needed it. For one thing, they couldn't reach trapped people without first getting the "jaws of life" on-site to extricate them. There's little any medical professional can do in circumstances of a major multi-car pileup, until emergency crews arrive, and of course they bring their own EMTs.

Hey #14,15 many thanks for providing such a thorough explanation of this ABS braking system. I did not know a bloomin’ thing about this vital function of my car. Thank you! Hey #16 brings up a great point. Its very possible this lady was not suitably dressed to be walking around dangerous wreckage plus the wicked cold. I hope she is doing well.