the accident

Jesse was on his way to Bozeman, Montana for a job interview at Deaconess Hospital.  He had finished his post graduate work in December at University of Denver and was to be hired as a psychometrist. They were looking forward to having him there and he was excited to be there.  We got up at 5 that morning, had breakfast and he left about 5:45.  I hugged him as he left then followed him out to the car for one last “I love you.”  “I love you, too.” At 11:43 in the morning, about 40 miles north of Casper, Wyoming, in slushy road conditions, his car hydroplaned, spun a complete 360 then rolled off an embankment.  It rolled twice before coming to a stop, right side up. Jesse put the car in park, put on the emergency brake, undid his seatbelt, got out of the car and put the keys in his pocket.  He did not realize he had a broken left femur. He had just passed a state trooper, who was stopped with another vehicle by the side of the road, and who saw the accident, arriving at the scene in 3 minutes. Another driver, Justin Ferguson, was just behind Jesse on the highway and immediately stopped to render aid.  Justin jumped down the embankment just as Jesse got out of the car, and asked, “Are you OK?”  Jesse responded, “Yea, I’m OK.”  At that moment, the trooper arrived and said to Justin, “Are you involved in the accident?” Justin said, “No, he is.” Both turned to Jesse, but he had collapsed.  The trooper immediately began CPR and continued 40 minutes or so until the ambulance arrived and took over.  They continued performing emergency measures, but it was to no avail.  The coroner believes the impact of the roll-over caused a break in his neck high near the base of the skull.  She knows of other cases where the individual doesn’t realize they are injured, they sit up, they talk, and then the spinal cord is severed resulting in instant and painless death. 

Although these details may seem morbid, there are so many tender mercies in the events of his death that I find great comfort in their telling.  The circumstances of his life at the time of his death were joyful; he had much to look forward to and was at a very happy time of life.  To my way of thinking, if he had to leave this world, it was a perfect time to go. He did not suffer; he wasn’t alone.  So often the victims of accidents are found after-the-fact, leaving loved ones to wonder, “What happened? Did they suffer?”  I am grateful to know, and so very grateful the right people were there to do all they could to help him.  His final words, “I’m OK” remind me that he is indeed, OK.