CRESTON – Dane Miller lowered the driver-side window on a crisp fall day to let the breeze fill the cab of his yellow N.C. Department of Transportation dump truck.
Minutes later, he began the fight for his life as anaphylactic shock took hold.
“A bee flew in and went down my shirt and stung my collarbone,” Miller said. “Didn’t really have much time, so I just pulled off into the fire department … (and) called my coworkers.”
His colleagues in the Ashe County Bridge Maintenance unit — Tommy Royal, Michael Houck, William Hinson, Mike Powers and Zak Roupe — jumped into action. Miller pulled into the Pond Mountain Volunteer Fire and Rescue Station parking lot and waited until they could reach him. While they weren’t too far away as the crow flies, the local roads winding through mountains seem to stretch time.
“That was probably 2 miles from where we were (working),” Hinson said. “And geographically, that was probably the worst location for this to happen, probably as far as you can get from a hospital.”
Miller injected himself with one dose of epinephrin, and his colleagues helped administer another dose when they arrived. Still, his airways were closing and the nearest ambulance was 30 minutes away. Even local firefighters would need another 10-15 minutes to reach the station and render aid.
His coworkers stayed on the phone with a 911 operator and, to save time, loaded him into a truck and drove to meet the ambulance near Roaring Fork Church. Miller lost consciousness and even stopped breathing twice during the ride. It took several more doses of epinephrin delivered by his coworkers, the EMS crew and the hospital to get his vital signs back to normal.
“I’m real thankful to work with the crew I do,” Miller said. “If it wasn’t for Tommy and Michael’s relationship with the fire department and Tommy’s EMS experience, I wouldn’t have made it.”
NCDOT honored the crew with the Extra Mile Award at Thursday’s N.C. Board of Transportation meeting. The award is reserved for employees who have performed far beyond their typical duties.
“Our staff supports each other every single day, but this crew's actions saved Dane's life," said North Carolina Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson. "I applaud their quick thinking, teamwork and willingness to go above and beyond expectations to help a teammate in need.”
When doctors released Miller from the hospital, he dropped by the bridge maintenance office to thank the crew.
“I’m just grateful that him and his mom came back by and that he was walking the next time I seen him,” Royal said. “Because when I last seen him, he wasn’t looking good.”
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