Nurse tried to help motorcyclist who died in a high-speed crash in West Allis
When Emma Metzer of Greenfield was leaving an appointment at the West Allis Medical Center on Sept. 14, she was excited to meet up with a friend.
She sent a text at 5:26 p.m. that she’d arrive in 25 minutes.
Instead, Metzer ended up trying to save the life of a 21-year-old West Allis man who’d just been involved in a high-speed motorcycle crash.
West Allis Police have identified the man as Jason Perenich Jr.
“I pulled out onto 92nd from Hayes and almost immediately saw a body (lying) in the road,” she said. “I pulled my car over and ran over to the kid. Others were starting to come out of their homes, and it seemed like other cars were also stopping.”
Metzer, a registered nurse at Ascension St. Joseph’s, quickly assessed Perenich’s situation, realizing the severity.
The young man’s face was pale, and he was losing a lot of blood.
“I asked if anyone had checked to see if he had a pulse,” Metzer said. “No one had.”
She checked for a carotid pulse (in the neck) but didn’t think she felt one.
Someone else checked for a radial pulse (at the wrist) and they thought he had one.
“So, I was like, OK, well then, we have to start CPR,” Metzer said.
She started chest compressions, trading off with another nurse and physician who had also stopped at the scene, while a woman who lives in one of the homes nearby had a CPR mask and was doing rescue breaths.
Perenich was not responsive and never regained consciousness, according to Metzer.
EMS eventually arrived and took over rescue efforts, but the 21-year-old was pronounced dead at 5:52 p.m.[1], according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s public database.
“Whenever I see an accident, I usually stop if I’m able to, to check that everyone is okay,” she said. “But I’ve never seen anything like this before. I’m a labor and delivery nurse.”
West Allis police said the initial investigation indicates Perenich was traveling at a high speed north on South 92nd Street when he struck a car turning onto northbound 92nd Street from West Arthur Place.
The driver of the car remained on-scene and cooperated with the investigation, according to police.
A vigil and their own way to mourn
The following night, a large group gathered near where the accident occurred for a candle vigil, with many doing burnouts and donuts, leaving the road black and sending up tire smoke for the fallen fellow rider ― a friend to some; family to others.
Multiple videos of the gathering have been posted publicly on social media.
West Allis Police Deputy Chief Robert Fletcher confirmed a large crowd gathered and “began to block the roadway and did burnouts in the road.” He said officers attempted to disperse the crowd, “but they did not respond to officers’ commands.”
Additional law enforcement agencies were called in to “assist with maintaining order and protecting public safety,” Fletcher said.
He said West Allis police did make several arrests that evening for unlawful assembly and the incident remains under investigation.
A GoFundMe has also been set up[2] for the Perenich family to "help alleviate some of (the) financial burden that accompanies this type of tragedy," according to the fundraiser description. As of Sept. 19, it has raised nearly $22,000 with a $35,000 goal.
Contact Erik S. Hanley at [email protected]. Like his Facebook page, The Redheadliner, and follow him on Twitter @Redheadliner.[3][4][5]
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nurse tried to save life of West Allis motorcyclist who crashed[8]
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