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Difficult memories EMT still affected by role in Earnhardt tragedy
Updated: Friday July 06, 2001 6:08 PM
By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Try as she might, Patti Dobler can't stop her mind from racing back to the crash that killed Dale Earnhardt. Dobler, a 37-year-old single mom and emergency medical technician, spent eight minutes working feverishly inside Earnhardt's mangled car at the Daytona 500, all the while knowing there was no chance to save the racing legend's life. "It's been very difficult to put behind me, because every day I am reminded of it," said Dobler, a Winter Park resident. "Yeah, the phone calls have stopped at my house, but just driving down the road there isn't a day that goes by that I don't see a No. 3 on the back of a pickup truck. Or it might be a billboard that says something about Earnhardt or somebody asking me about the incident. "When I see the No. 3 I automatically put myself back in that car. That is what it reminds me of, being in that car."
Dobler, part of a three-member rescue team positioned at turn 4 during the Feb. 18 race, acted on instinct when she climbed into the right side of Earnhardt's black Monte Carlo. Video footage revealed Dobler was inside the car for eight minutes. Most of that time was spent holding Earnhardt's head up, trying to keep his airway open. "When we got the call from the tower, we saw the car coming down the off the wall," she said. "We were right there. Usually, Dale Earnhardt is just a bear. Getting him into an ambulance after he wrecks is not fun. He used to get real ticked off. Like anybody, they just wrecked their car, lost the race. I didn't say it, but I'm thinking, 'Oh, man. We got to get Dale in the truck.' "But when I got to the car, I walked up and looked in the window and he was slumped over. I honestly thought he was unconscious. So I climbed in and shut everything down. I pulled his head back ... and I looked at his face and I knew. "His color wasn't good. There was no reaction in his pupils. There was blood coming out of his mouth. I knew it was a bad situation and he was dead. I was just shocked. There's always that 'Well, maybe he'll make it by some chance.' So you do what you have to do to try to save him like he was still alive. That is what we did." Dobler will work the Pepsi 400 this weekend with Jason Brown, her partner during the Daytona 500. The other member of their team, Tommy Propst, has elected not to return to the track. Track officials have decided not to assign them to turn 4, however, because that's where a large number of media photographs are positioned. The other change Saturday is that the safety meeting before the race will be longer than usual so the paramedics can be briefed on the head-and-neck restraint devices in use and how to best undo the straps. Most of the drivers are expected to use some type of additional restraint device after only a handful did at the Daytona 500. Dobler downplayed her weekend assignment. "I've been working at the track since this accident happened, so it's not like I've been away from track and this is my first time back. It's not a big deal. I'm just going to be doing my job like I did that day."
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