SURVIVORS STORIES
Stephanie Usry
Buckle? Or not?
While home from college in California, Stephanie Usry, on her 19th birthday, Jan. 5, 2007, drove her little sister from Carpenter to Cheyenne. Her vehicle was westbound on Interstate 80 when she started to exit onto the College Drive Exit. For an unknown reason, she decided not to exit and made a sharp left back onto the interstate. She lost control, went across the median over both lanes of the eastbound interstate, then rolled several times onto the eastbound right-of-way where she was ejected. Stephanie was not wearing her seat belt. She did, however, make sure her little sister was properly restrained in a child restraint. In the crash, Stephanie broke most of the bones in her face and almost died at the scene. Within the first month, she had a half dozen surgeries to rebuild her face. It is over a year later and she is still on the road to recovery with further corrective surgery on the horizon. Her little sister was shaken up during the crash but basically was uninjured.
Stephanie Usry said, “I always thought driving in Wyoming was really boring. That’s partly why I didn’t buckle up. Laying in a hospital bed is a lot more boring that driving 30 miles down a straight road.”
Amy Jones
Positive choice: Buckled
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Amy Jones crash site, Amy Jones is in the sleeping bag |
On April 30, 2007, Amy Jones was driving her Honda Civic from Wheatland to Laramie on US 34 to visit her parents. The Ford Explorer was heading eastbound and for an unknown reason it crossed the center line into the westbound lane and into the path of Amy’s Honda Civic. Amy slowed her car and steered to the right but the embankment was too steep so she steered left to avoid the Explorer. The vehicles collided right side to right side in a near head-on crash. The collision took place almost entirely in the eastbound lane. Both Amy and the driver of the Explorer were wearing their seat belts and both walked away from the crash with minor injuries. The airbag in the Honda deployed as designed.
Sgt. Duane Ellis said: “Looking at the car, Amy was a very fortunate young lady. She made a choice that saved her life that day. Amy buckled up.”
I was on duty last night from 5 pm to 5 am on the ambulance. Just before 10 p.m. we were toned to a car crash down by the New Fork on the
fishing access road.
Four teenagers, 15 - 16 years old, were occupants. Joy riding, a girl sitting on the boys lap, both of them driving the car together. Didn't appear to have any alcohol involved, we might not know that til later, but I hope NOT. The two in the driver's seat were ejected through the driver's side door during one of the rollover revolutions, another passenger, unrestrained, was not ejected and only suffered a broken arm. One young woman in the back DID have on her seatbelt, no injuries.
The two ejected are severely injured and in critical condition. Both with TBI, multiple FX, including pelvis, femur, 8 ribs, open clavicle, lacerations to skin and organs, pulmonary contusion, and on and on. It was terribly gut wrenching when the doctor invited the parents in to say goodbye to their daugher before we put her on lifeflight to Utah. she was unresponsive, also heavily sedated, intubated, and as they walked out, Dr. Quirk grabbed the mother's arm and said, come back here. There's something I want you to say, I didn't hear you say you love her. Tell her that, then we'll get her shipped out. It was HORRIBLE. The parents bawled, we bawled, and then we loaded her on the helicopter. She is supposed to have surgery today to remove a lacerated kidney. My job was to breathe for her. And I coached Dr. Demetriou on starting her I.O. I really wanted to do the insertion, but he came in at the last minute and said he would do it. So I coached, yet again. (I've trained probably 100 or more people, medics all across the state, the clinic staff . . . . .and I've never done an insertion.)
The young man is an exchange student from Sweden, or maybe it is Switzerland, living with one of our medics, Randy Belton, and his family. It was pretty discouraging, all the parental oversight and input, they took him skiing, snowmachining, and he was safe all year....and one moment of stupidity changed everything. His grandparents were here in Pinedale to pick him up, tour across the U.S. before returning to their home. Today, he is in surgery to try to fix his femur and his pelvis, and he has a subarachnoid bleed.
You sent me blue ribbons to distribute to children who wear seatbelts.....Lisanne Fear will be our first recipient. With great fanfare, we will award her the blue ribbon.
This is what we do. To make a difference is all we can hope for.
Kris
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