Those who work a vehicle crash typically don’t know what happens to the individuals who were injured once the scene is cleared
“We’re the first responders, but we’re usually forgotten,” said Boulder Ambulance Director Michele St. George.
Not so with an accident that occurred June 2 on Highway 69 in Boulder.
The head-on collision ended in one fatality, but the other driver, David Swanson, while suffering multiple injuries, survived.
Now back home in Helena after weeks in the hospital, Swanson, 58, his wife, Amy, and grandson Kingslen, returned to Boulder on Sept. 17 to thank those who were first to arrive at the accident and help him to safety.
Swanson has driven along Highway 69 many times as part of his job as an electrician with Colbert Electric in Anaconda. That day, Swanson was headed south to Sheridan. Headed northbound was Danell Wilson, 21, of Helena. That morning, Wilson’s sedan veered into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided head-on with Swanson, who was driving a one ton Chevy service truck.
Wilson died at the scene.
Swanson, meanwhile, remembers little of the accident itself.
“It’s nip and tuck what I can remember,” he said, although he thought he had moved over enough to avoid the oncoming vehicle, but there was a guardrail in the way.
The accident happened just south of Hot Springs Road at the bridge.
Boulder resident Connie Grenz was the first to call 911.
Grenz was headed south on 69 that morning to Boulder Hot Springs, where she prepares breakfast.
Grenz said she saw fire, and when she got closer, both vehicles were turned around in the road, with the one driven by Wilson in flames.
She put on her flashers and signaled to oncoming cars, while thinking that “surely someone has a cell phone.
When she arrived at Boulder Hot Springs, “I knew I had to call 911 and I did,” she said.
Katy James, an A-EMT, was the dispatcher on duty when the call came in at 7:38 a.m.
“It was a little bit scary,” said James, as the caller, Grenz, was anxious.
James said her first job was to clarify where the accident was, as her office covers the roughly 1,600 square miles of Jefferson County.
Since she was on her own that morning, Eric Meeks, who is the detention officer at the county jail, jumped in to help. James worked to get all the necessary information and field other calls while Meeks concentrated on dispatching the appropriate first responders.
The severity of the crash led to a quick call to Life Flight, which was dispatched from Butte.
Meanwhile, Rich Burnside with the Boulder VFD was one of the first on the scene, along with Kyle St. George with the Boulder Police Department.
Swanson said he remembers glass — and Burnside.
Burnside said they couldn’t get the door open because one of Swanson’s legs was in the way. They had to use a pry bar to separate the seats to get Swanson’s legs out, which Burnside described as being like “jello.”
It took a half hour to 45 minutes to get the backboard wedged in, said Burnside.
While they were able to finally get Swanson out, moving him could have caused more problems.
The crew was worried that once he was freed of the constraints of the vehicle, he would start bleeding, said Boulder Ambulance Director Michele St. George.
Burnside said he kept Swanson in a tight hug as they performed the extrication.
“We’ll get you there, we’ll get you there,” Burnside said he told Swanson over and over.
For St. George, “It was probably the worst extrication I’ve ever been involved with.”
The scene moved quickly as more help arrived.
When Bull Mountain Fire Chief Cory Kirsch got to the accident, there was an item in the truck that raised a red flag.
“My heart sank when I saw that car seat,” he said.
St. George said that first responders took an extra look around to make sure they hadn’t missed a young, injured passenger.
However, while Swanson kept a car seat in his work truck, Kingslen was with his grandmother, Amy, that day.
Kirsch said the engine had been pushed into the cab of the truck, and Boulder VFD member Bill Crenshaw said it was lucky Swanson was driving a truck with a large grill as it helped blunt some of the impact.
Boulder Ambulance A-EMT Molly Carey said she asked Swanson if he wanted her to call someone, and his first response was to call his boss.
He wanted to let his boss know he wrecked the company truck, said Amy, who said it was Swanson’s boss who notified her.
It took Life Flight 12 minutes to arrive in Boulder, and the helicopter landed right behind Swanson’s truck.
“The timing worked out good,” said Life Flight paramedic Steve Schmid, adding that the helicopter crews are in a perpetual state of readiness as minutes matter in an accident.
The crew consists of a paramedic, nurse and pilot.
“It’s basically a flying ICU in the air,” said Schmid.
Swanson was loaded into the helicopter, given two units of blood and the Life Flight crew flew him to SCL Health St. James in Butte,
Amy said her husband’s boss called her at around 9 a.m. She didn’t know any details about the accident, other than it had occurred. Amy said she didn’t even know if her husband was alive.
Amy grabbed Kingslen and drove to Butte.
“And then I lost it,” she said upon arriving at St. James.
Swanson spent four days at St. James. He was then transported by Life Flight, with Schmid again at his side, to Salt Lake City. Swanson was initially admitted to the University of Utah Medical Center, followed by the Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital. In all, Swanson spent 13 weeks in Salt Lake City recovering from his injuries, said Amy.
In addition to a brain injury, Swanson suffered a fractured skull, two broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken arm and hip. He broke the fibula, tibia and shattered his ankle and foot on his left leg and broke his leg below the knee on the right. He has also suffered kidney failure due to the accident.
To aid in his recovery, Swanson underwent 12 surgeries and received 18 units of blood, said Amy.
While the brain injury has healed, Swanson still cannot walk without assistance. Currently, he is undergoing physical, occupational and speech therapy.
“We’re looking at a good couple of years of therapy,” said Amy.
There were many first responders on the scene that morning, to include Boulder Ambulance, the Boulder, Bull Mountain and Montana City volunteer fire departments, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Boulder Police Department, the Montana Highway Patrol, Life Flight, St. Pete’s Ambulance and the Montana Department of Transportation.
“It’s a team effort in a rural community. Everyone comes together,” said Schmid.
Amy was thankful that they had saved her husband’s life.
“We’re thankful to you, every one of you,” she said.
Swanson shook hands and thanked all of the first responders who returned to see how one of their patients had fared.
“We’re still here for you,” said Burnside.
