ANDERSON COUNTY —One person was critically injured in a grain cart incident on Tuesday in Anderson County.
At approximately 11:35 a.m. Tuesday the Anderson County Communications Center received a call reporting a subject trapped in a grain cart in rural Anderson County, west of Garnett, according to the. Sheriff's office.
Deputies, EMS, and Garnett Rescue were dispatched at 11:37 a.m. Based on initial reports, Anderson County EMS requested an air ambulance be placed on standby. By 11:44 a.m., the Anderson County Sheriff, Undersheriff, a Sheriff’s Sergeant, and the County Fire Coordinator were on scene. At 11:45 a.m., Sheriff’s Office personnel entered the grain cart, recognized the patient was experiencing a life-threatening emergency, and immediately applied a tourniquet to control severe bleeding.
At 11:48 a.m., the Anderson County EMS Director and an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance arrived. A minute later, Garnett Rescue personnel arrived with a rescue truck. Together, law enforcement, EMS, and fire/rescue developed and executed a plan to safely extricate the patient.
By 11:56 a.m., the patient was freed from the grain cart and transported to the Anderson County Hospital helipad via ALS ambulance, receiving advanced care en route. The ambulance arrived at the helipad at 12:09 p.m., where the flight crew transferred the patient to a medical helicopter, which arrived within five minutes.
By 1:01 p.m., the patient was receiving definitive care at a Level 1 Trauma Center in the Kansas City metro—just 1 hour and 26 minutes after the initial 911 call.
“This incident highlights the importance of rapid and accurate information flow,” said Chelsey D’Albini, Anderson County Communications Center Director. “Our dispatchers coordinated multiple agencies, requested the air ambulance, and ensured resources were mobilized quickly. That early coordination was a critical link in the chain of survival.”
Sheriff Wes McClain praised the collaboration: “This was true teamwork. From deputies jumping in to provide immediate aid, to EMS and rescue personnel coordinating the extrication and transport, everyone had one mission—save a life. Today’s response proves the strength of our emergency system in Anderson County.”
Anderson County EMS Director Troy Armstrong commended the quick action of law enforcement and the seamless teamwork: “The Sheriff’s Office deputies made a lifesaving decision by applying a tourniquet in those first critical minutes. That intervention, combined with rapid extrication by rescue and advanced care by EMS, ensured this patient had the best possible chance of survival. I couldn’t be prouder of the collaboration that occurred today.”
Rural Trauma Facts
• Trauma is the leading cause of death for Americans under age 45.
• Patients injured in rural areas are 50% more likely to die from their injuries than those in urban areas, largely due to time and distance to advanced care.
• The quick recognition, response, and activation of a regional trauma system can mean the difference between life and death.
Today’s outcome underscores the value of training, interagency cooperation, and a pre-identified trauma system in Anderson County.