Terror at Mardi Gras: Mass Casualties after a Truck Ramming Incident

This case outlines a mass casualty scenario involving a targeted automobile ramming attack (TARMAC) during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. The scenario features three patients with varying injuries: a 23-year-old man struck by a truck, a 37-year-old woman with a leg fracture from falling off bleachers, and a 63-year-old man with a head injury and confusion after falling. The exercise focuses on key disaster response principles, including scene safety, airway and breathing assessment, hemorrhage control, and trauma stabilization. It emphasizes the need for quick decision-making, effective communication, crowd control, and coordination with emergency services in mass casualty situations. Critical actions include patient stabilization, C-spine precautions, airway management, and rapid transport. Through this exercise, healthcare providers practice managing multiple trauma patients in a chaotic, high-stress environment, preparing them for real-world mass casualty incidents involving blunt trauma, penetrating injuries, and complex triage scenarios.