Ordinary wreck, extraordinary rescue
All in a days work for volunteer rescue workers

A 13-year-old Brownsboro girl miraculously escaped injury when the vehicle she was riding in flipped over pinning her beneath, Thursday morning, west of Brownsboro.

"You could not be at that accident and see the position that girl was in, and where the vehicle was, and not believe there is a God," said Brownsboro VFD Assistant Chief Russell Kuhns, who served as fire/rescue command at the scene. "She had no cuts, no bleeding."

Around 7:00 a.m., a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo, driven by Alexandrea Defoe, 16, also of Brownsboro, was northbound on County Road 3613, traveling at an unsafe speed when she approached a curve to the left, just south of CR 3612, according to DPS Trooper Brent Davis.

The Isuzu ran off the road to the right, Defoe overcorrected, and flipped over, coming to a rest on the roof of the vehicle in a ditch on the left side of the road, Davis said.

Defoe, and her three siblings ages 10, 9, and 6, were able to crawl from the overturned vehicle. A fourth passenger, their 13-year-old sister, who was ejected from the vehicle before it landed on top of her, remained pinned underneath.

First on the scene was nearby resident, Kathy Drummond, who was waiting to pull from her driveway onto CR 3613 when the Isuzu passed by, Kuhns said. Drummond, who is employed by Sky Ranch as a paramedic, told Kuhns she then heard a loud thump and saw smoke.

"She had the three boys and the driver all seated on the side of the road administering first aid, when we got there," Kuhns said. "They started saying, `our sister,' and that's when we realized there was someone else."

Fearing the worst, Kuhns said he crawled to the 13- year-old to check her pulse. When he touched her she moaned and began speaking.

"I was absolutely shocked," he said. "My first priority was to get that girl out."

Kuhns said he continued talking with the girl as he looked for any injuries she may have sustained.

"Her whole body was under the truck," Kuhns said. "We could not move the vehicle the way it was for risk of smashing her."

Brownsboro ISD Police Chief Kyle Bridges, who served as communications command summoned Allison Wrecker, of Chandler, and East Texas Wrecker, of Brownsboro to assist in lifting the vehicle, and Chandler VFD to bring their air cushion recovery bags, to be slipped underneath a vehicle, and inflated in order to lift the vehicle safely.

"They can lift thousands of pounds," Kuhns said. "It lifts the whole vehicle without disturbing the patient."

Feeling time was of the essence, however, while Kuhns remained with the girl, BVFD rescue personnel Bryan McAteer, Jimmy Sones, Chris Saylors, Troy Davis, and Gerry Huffman began the task of stabilizing the vehicle in order to lift the Isuzu enough to extract the girl. Assisting was BVFD volunteers Nehemiah Kuhns, Jeremy Featherston, and Dean Hostetter.

While McAteer braced the vehicle with the ram apparatus, Sones parked the department's rescue vehicle in an adjacent field next to the wreckage. Saylors hooked the rescue vehicle's winch to the Isuzu's frame for additional support. Slowly, a half-inch at a time, they began to lift the vehicle while Davis and Huffman inserted chocks beneath.

When the vehicle was lifted nearly six inches, Kuhns said he was able to pull the girl safely out.

"Team work had everything to do with the success of this rescue," Kuhns said. "They kept (the girl) safe; they kept me safe. It went just as it was supposed to. Everybody knew just what to do."

Due to the extensive damage to the vehicle, and the possibility of internal injuries, the 13-year-old was flown by Air 1 to ETMC Tyler. The others were also transported to ETMC Tyler by ambulance.

Kuhns reported by noon, the four taken by ambulance, had been released from the hospital.

The 13-year-old was also released later that day.

"The way she got out and was talking...it was a miracle," he said. "I am awestruck by it all. You just cannot see that and not believe there is a God."

According to Davis, the 13- year-old was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.

"It was amazing team work of everybody," Bridges said. "Everybody worked so well together. Russell Kuhns knows his stuff. People just don't realize how lucky we are."

BVFD wants to thank Chandler VFD, and Allison Wrecker, and Holt Wrecker for their promptness in answering their call for help, and Chandler Assistant Police Chief James Lehman for his assistance.

"We were able to get her out before they got there, but we knew if we needed them they were on the way," McAteer said. "It's always a big help knowing they're there."

Davis said the driver did not have a license.