A Flight Full of Mercy and Care

America Salmeron is very fortunate to be alive, and she knows it.

Salmeron, a Pasadena resident, was vacationing just outside of Las Vegas last fall, when she was involved in a high-speed dune buggy crash, in which the vehicle flipped over and quickly caught fire. 

Salmeron, 18, was trapped in the passenger seat, and worked herself free from the vehicle, but was severely injured from the fire. 

When local EMS arrived on scene, they immediately called Mercy Air 2, based in Pahrump, NV, to transport Salmeron to University Medical Center for higher-level care.

On Thursday, the crew of that Mercy Air 2 flight reconnected with their former burn patient at the Pasadena Police Department heliport. In fact, three different Mercy Air medical flight crews had transported Salmeron across state lines on her medical journey.

Said Salmeron, “I knew Mercy Air transported me back home, but until we started planning this reunion, I didn’t know the same program airlifted me from the accident in Nevada. I still have a long journey to fully recover but I’m grateful to be standing here today to reunite with the Mercy Air crew and Pasadena first responders.”

 Salmeron had sustained third-degree burns, covering more than 50 percent of her body. Twenty days after her accident, Salmeron was stable enough to travel via air medical transport to Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital & Medical Center for care closer to home. 

Due to inclement weather in Southern California, the Mercy Air 7 team in Henderson, NV worked diligently and quickly with its Mercy Air 2 sister team in Victorville, CA to navigate and coordinate  through instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions, and safely transport Salmeron and her mother to Grossman Burn Center where she remained for nearly three months.

“The unwavering commitment to excellent patient care and grit of the Mercy Air teams to overcome many obstacles, allowed this courageous, young woman to recover near her home with family and friends close by,” said Pasadena Fire Department Chief Chad Augustin. “I’m sincerely grateful. It doesn’t go unnoticed that the Mercy Air program committed two aircraft and many hours of flight time to ensure that America was safely and successfully brought home to recover.”

Before her accident, Salmeron was actually a Fire Explorer with the department, with hopes of one day becoming a firefighter. 

“I knew I always wanted to do a job that was different, one that wasn’t in a woman-dominated career. I didn’t want a routine job. In the fire service, every call is different,” said Salmeron. “Although I might have some limitations now, I won’t let that stop me from reaching my dream to be a firefighter. I recently found hope in a news story where a person had more than 70 percent of his body burned at a young age and still achieved his dream of becoming a firefighter. I want to prove to myself and to the world that I’m determined to do that, too.” 

Salmeron will require reconstruction surgeries as she is not able to fully extend her right arm and does not have fully functional fingers on her left hand. 

“It’s not every day that we get to reunite with a unique patient like America,” said Mercy Air Flight Paramedic Jose Orozco. “We’re thankful to be a small part of her journey to recovery. It took excellent coordination and resources to accomplish this mission. We couldn’t have done it without the help of dispatchers, partners, leadership, clinicians, and pilots, all of whom are willing to go the extra mile to help patients.”