ALS Airmen help rescue woman at car accident Published May 6, 2008 By Corey Dahl 21st Space Wing Public Affairs PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Two Airmen attending the Airman Leadership School here helped rescue a woman from a hairy car accident April 24. Senior Airmen Joseph Honsberger and Thomas Howser were driving to class together on Powers Boulevard that morning when, a few car lengths ahead of them, a car trying to make a left turn was struck by a one-ton utility truck. A tire from one of the cars struck Airman Honsberger's car, so the pair pulled over to exchange insurance information. But when they walked over to the scene of the accident, which occurred at the intersection of Powers and Fountain Boulevards, they found the driver of the car wasn't moving. Several bystanders had already called 911, but no one was sure what to do. With the help of Airman Howser, Airman Honsberger, who is a firefighter at the U.S. Air Force Academy, pulled the woman out of the car and checked her vitals. The woman had no pulse, wasn't breathing and was unconscious, so Airman Honsberger began to administer CPR. Within minutes, the woman was conscious again, asking for her dog, who was in the car and for someone to call her husband. Airman Howser located her cell phone and gave it to another bystander to contact her husband and then got the dog safely out of the car while they waited for the ambulance to arrive. According to news reports, the woman was taken to the hospital, treated for a broken ankle and then released. Airman Howser, who works for special operations at Fort Carson, said the whole experience was a little crazy - and definitely not something he had expected to do during the morning commute. But he was glad Airman Honsberger was there to help, he said. "I don't know that she would have made it if he didn't do what he did," Airman Howser said. Airman Honsberger, however, said his role was not that extraordinary. He just did what he had to. "I'm a fireman, so it's kind of just my normal job," he said. "I didn't even really think about it."