Monday, 9am-CAUTION! EMOTIONAL EMAIL

Below is an emotional email sent to the Bennett Family from one of the first responders. I believe it was received on Wednesday, August 10th.

Bennett Family,

I have gone over in my mind what to say or whether to say anything at all.  There are no words I could write to make this situation better, but I hope to give some encouragement.  My girlfriend, Kaylene, and myself were on our way back to Fairbanks from a weekend camping trip on Sunday.  We were not in a hurry, and decided to take our time stopping frequently to fish and hike.  We were really dragging our feet trying to get the most out of the weekend!  We had just finished a two mile hike in Denali and a brief stop to get some water, then got back on the road to make the final push home.  We had just passed through Healy when we saw a truck wrecked on the road.  I sped up to the scene of the accident and seeing that it had just happened, got out to help.  (I just recently finished 8 years in the Army as a Combat Medic and have spent the last ten as an EMT and volunteer firefighter.)  A man came up the hill on the side of the road holding a girl (who I later learned was Kaylee) in his arms.  I took her and asked if anyone else was down there and he said yes.  Kaylene ran down the hill and carried Jesse up while I looked after Kaylee.  Another bystander came to assist and I told them to stay with her.  I went down the hill and saw the Suburban on its side.  We knew there were more children inside.  I was able to force open the back glass to the truck and crawl inside.  I saw Erika first and then looked to the front and saw Brittany move.  I handed suitcases and other luggage out to other people and made a space to check Erika.  I could tell she was hurt badly.  An off duty Fairbanks firefighter had shown up and we agreed that in order to save her life we had to move her quickly.  She was pinned in, but I managed to work her legs free.  We took every precaution we could to get her out safely as possible and were able to slide her out of the vehicle.  Once Erika was free I was able to move to Brittany.  I could tell Brittany was going to be harder to get out because of how her legs were pinned.  Another EMT who arrived was able to hand me a C-Collar to place around her neck.  A young man named Jameson was able to put his hand under the side of the truck to help stabilize her while several others used their own weight to hold the vehicle to keep it from toppling.  I was trying to hold Brittany still while we waited for a rescue truck, but she’s a heck of a fighter!  Kaylene was outside the truck talking to her through the windshield and that seemed to calm her a bit.  It seemed like a lifetime waiting on the rescue truck to come with the extrication tools.  It took roughly an hour, but finally they showed up.  A firefighter named Rusty told me he was going to break the windshield and I covered Brittany with a blanket I found in the truck.   The firefighters put wood shoring under the truck to stabilize it and we decided the best way to get her out was to cut the roof off of the truck.  I made sure both Brittany and myself were covered and tried to lay over her as best I could.  They cut the roof and that enabled us to place a short spine board under Brittany to better stabilize her.  A nurse named Tara had shown up and with Kaylene’s help worked to get basic vital signs on Brittany.  Rusty and I worked for about 45 minutes to free her. He used a tool to spread a space between the seats while I used cutters to cut the seat mount free.  After we cut the seat mount I grabbed the seat and pulled back as hard as I could creating a space for Rusty to use a pair of shears to cut Brittany’s shoe off.  That enabled us to free her feet and gently move her out of the truck and onto a long spine board.  Myself, Rusty and two other firefighters carried Brittany up the hill to a waiting ambulance.  That was the beginning of what I am sure going to be an amazing story of survival for those precious girls.  I’m sure this was not easy to read, but I just felt that it was important for this family to know what went into freeing Brittany and Erika.  I have seen people at their worst and all too often in my life I have witnessed horrible things.  This was not one of those times.  I firmly believe God put everyone involved in Brittany and Erika’s rescue together on that road to ensure they lived.  A group of strangers worked together for one common goal and that is truly a blessing.  Kaylene and I are blessed and honored to have been placed there to help.

Sincerely,

Sean

(copied with permission, by Michelle Mondelli)