When Seconds Matter

There When It Truly Matters

At DragonFly, we strive to develop technologies that improve the day-to-day workings in your athletic department. We're also constantly looking for ways to simplify processes that have become too complicated over the years.

But more than anything, DragonFly is focused on making athletic participation safe and enjoyable for your student-athletes. Our tools help you quickly respond to injuries and emergencies in incredible ways. We have never been more proud of our team's work than when we recently heard a story about DragonFly in action.

Read the story shared by Handley High School Football Coach Larry Strain below.

Unforeseen Events

On the night of October 24th, 2018, following both B-Team and Junior High football contests, the Handley HS football team was returning home heading eastbound on I-20 near Talladega, AL. There were 3 buses in the caravan, with the lead bus carrying the B team players. The team was returning after their competition with Leeds High School when they experienced a horrendous accident involving another vehicle.

As they passed a tractor trailer, the bus driver made a comment that caused Coach Strain to look up from his seat at the front of the bus. As Coach Strain looked out the windshield of the bus, he was able to see a pickup truck that had crossed from the westbound lanes and was spinning toward them about 20 feet in the air. Almost as soon as they noticed this truck, it struck the top of the bus (near the upper headlights). Upon impact, the bus swerved off of the westbound lanes, across the median and both eastbound lanes, landing over a ditch on the shoulder of I-20 with only the front and back ends of the bus in contact with the ground.

When the truck struck the bus, Coach Strain, who was sitting in the front of the bus was knocked unconscious and the driver of the bus was pinned in his seat. The front entrance to the bus was also rendered inoperable. When he regained his awareness, Coach Strain's first instinct was to help the driver who was eventually air lifted to Birmingham for care. As he did so, however, he looked toward the back of the bus where he saw every seat in the bus ripped from the floor. He also noted that there were students scattered throughout the bus and on I-20.

There probably isn't anything more frightening than seeing the students you are charged with caring for in such a dangerous situation. The first individuals to respond were Alabama State Troopers, who immediately moved to get an understanding of everything that was going on. Their first step was to assess the number of individuals involved by asking for a count of the athletes and staff that had been on the bus. They then began arranging transport of injured individuals, which required contact information for each student, as well as copies of their consent forms for medical treatment. Coach Strain was able to use his DragonFly app on his phone to provide Alabama State Troopers with all of these necessary details.

Ultimately, the bus driver was extricated and taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. All of the students were also taken to area hospitals with 7 of them being rushed to Children's Hospital in Birmingham. Each student ended up suffering only a few injuries and all have recovered from the injuries suffered. Sadly, the driver of the truck was killed from the crash.

Tools That Are There When You Need Them

Coach Strain was so thankful that he had DragonFly in his pocket during this incident. He was so glad they had made the decision to start using our software, because it allowed him to have a complete list of the athletes who were in the vehicle as soon as the State Troopers arrived on scene. He was also grateful that he didn't have to go searching for each student's contact information when it was absolutely vital. This information was readily available in DragonFly, as well as the necessary insurance information, consent forms for transportation, and consent for medical treatment as each athlete was taken to different hospitals.

When we built DragonFly as a tool for athletics, we didn't necessarily anticipate all of its uses, but we knew it was important to find easy ways to give coaches the most important information about their students at the most critical times. We want every coach and parent to have the peace of mind that in an emergency their child will receive the best care because the most important health information is at the caregiver's fingertips.