The Williams Way in Action: Haskins Quick Thinking Saves A Life

Baylee Haskins never thought she would be in a situation to save someone’s life when she woke up on the morning of Oct. 31, 2021, but sometimes fate has a way of intervening in ways you never thought were possible.

 

Haskins, a WBU senior from Walnut Ridge, was with friends in rural Lawrence County when a woman rushed up to them saying her husband had been injured and trapped nearby in an ATV accident. They reached the scene before emergency personnel could arrive and found the man pinned in the wreckage, bleeding profusely from a badly injured arm.

 

Realizing the need to stem the blood loss, Haskins called her father to find out how to apply a tourniquet. Her father, Alan Haskins, heads the Fire Training Center at Black River Technical College and is a former Walnut Ridge fire chief, and he gave Bailey instructions over the phone. She fashioned a tourniquet from the ATV’s window seal and a stick and applied it successfully.

 

After about 10 minutes, emergency personnel arrived on scene and transported the injured man to a nearby hospital where he received further medical attention. They noted that without Haskins’ help, he could have lost his life due the amount of blood he was losing due to the injury.

 

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been as proud of her as I am right now,” Alan Haskins said. “She gave someone another Christmas, another birthday, some more time with their family. That’s special. That’s pretty special.”

 

Haskins was recognized by the Williams Baptist University Board of Trustees on December 4th for her efforts, but Haskins said she doesn’t want to be thought of as a hero. She said she’s just a person who did what they had to do, and she couldn’t have done it without the help of her friends.

 

“I just want to give recognition to my friends, because without them I wouldn’t have been able to put that tourniquet on,” she said.

 

Others noted that what Haskins accomplished was nothing short of a miracle, even those trained for these situations, let alone someone who just happened upon the situation.

 

“Baylee was able to call her father for help, and maintained a cool demeanor while she was talked through the process of creating and applying a life-saving medical adjunct,” said Brian Luetschwager, director of the criminal justice department at WBU. “This is no small feat for those trained in emergency medical care, let alone a layperson.”

 

The entire Williams Baptist University community commended Baylee for what she did and recognized her for outstanding role in saving the life of another person.

 

“Bailey is a great example of WBU students doing things the ‘Williams Way,’” said WBU President Dr. Stan Norman. “Her quick response, calm demeanor and compassion saved a man’s life. She is a credit to this institution and her community, and it is our pleasure to honor her.”