Mysterious priest performs miracle at site of Mercedes crash

Connect Tristates ^ | August 7, 2013 | Rajah Maples

[Mrs. Don-o]

CENTER, MO. -- Rescue workers want to thank a higher power for coming to the rescue early Sunday morning.

Emergency crews spent an hour and a half trying to extricate a 19-year-old Quincy woman trapped in her in crushed car on Missouri 19 near Center, Mo.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said Aaron Smith, 26, crossed the center line and struck Katie Lentz head-on.

Now, friends, family and those who rescued Lentz would love to find and thank a mysterious priest who they say helped make the rescue possible.

New London Fire Chief Raymond Reed said rescue crews spent the first 45 minutes after the accident trying to get Lentz out of a car to no avail Sunday morning shortly after 9 a.m. The metal on an older model Mercedes dulled the department's equipment.

"It was a very well-built car, and when you compact materials like that one, they become even stronger because you're cutting through multiple things instead of one layer," Reed said.

Reed says Lentz was pinned in between the steering wheel and the seat. After 45 minutes passed, medical workers told rescue crews that Katie was failing and fast. That's when Reed decided to move the car, which was standing on its side, back on all four wheels.

About an hour into the rescue, Katie asked rescue workers to pray out loud with her. That's when a priest appeared out of no where.

"He came up and approached the patient, and offered a prayer," Reed said. "It was a Catholic priest who had anointing oil with him. A sense of calmness came over her, and it did us as well. I can't be for certain how it was said, but myself and another firefighter, we very plainly heard that we should remain calm, that our tools would now work and that we would get her out of that vehicle."

The Hannibal Fire Department showed up right after that prayer with fresh equipment and was able to finish the extrication. After getting Katie safely into the Air Evac helicopter, at least a dozen of the rescue workers turned around to thank the priest who was no where in sight. The highway had been blocked for a quarter of a mile during the hour and a half rescue, leaving no bystanders and no parked cars nearby. Lentz' family and friends are amazed by the story.

"Where did this guy come from?" Lentz's friend Travis Wiseman asked. "We're looking for the priest and so far, no one has seen him. Whether it was a priest as an angel or an actual angel, he was an angel to all those and to Katie."

"We would like to find this gentleman and be able to thank him," Reed said. "As a first responder, you don't know what you're going to run into. We have a lot of tools, and we have intensive training. In this particular case, it is my feeling that it was nothing more than sheer faith and nothing short of a miracle."

Katie has undergone surgeries to repair several broken bones. She is scheduled for more surgeries in the coming weeks, but friends and family say her spirit has not wavered.

The driver of the other car in that accident, Aaron Smith, has been charged with a DWI, second degree assault and failure to drive on the right half of the roadway.

[editor-surveyor]

You don’t have the special catholic decoder ring.

[Sequoyah101]

Yes, I’d say you were right. There is a reason for it, many of us are looking for hope and some sign that God is still in control anywhere we can find it.

I know a young man who was, I’d say, agnostic. He says very little, faith is personal to him. He quietly told me one day that he knows there are Angels among us because he was helped by one. That is all. 15 years later he remains steadfast, quiet and private in his faith.

[Yossarian]

Hmmm.... I'm not so sure I want a "panzer", then. Let me explain why:

First, some assumptions:

• A full size pickup truck is about 6000 lbs.
  m1 = 2721kg
• Assume mass of Mercedes is (via wiki) 3600 lbs.
  m2 = 1633kg
• Entry speed is 30 mph (48 kph)
  u1 = 13.333 meters/sec.
• Assume post-crash speed of the truck is 5 mph
  v1 = 2.222 meters/sec.
• Assume your Mercedes was at standstill before crash (u2 = 0 meters/sec)

This is a collision, so let's pull up the equation for conversation of kinetic energy (KE):

+ (KE absorbed by truck) + (KE absorbed by Mercedes)

You say the Mercedes didn't take hardly any damage. (Note: I'd have the foam foundation of the rear bumper checked out, it may have absorbed the energy without giving any outward tell-tale signs it's now comprimised.) So let's say it absorbed only 5% of the crash kinetic energy.

Let's say, for sake of argument, that a modern truck, sturdy but designed with safety in mind, absorbed 20% of the crash energy.

That leaves 75% of the kinetic energy to be absorbed into velocity changes. Let's solve for that, which is v2 in the above equation:

v2 = sqrt( ( 1.3333 * (m1*u1*u1 + m2*u2*u2) - m1*v1*v1 ) / m2 )

(Plug & Chug numbers....)

v2 = 19.666 mps, = 44 miles per hour

Let's say the time the crash takes to impart that energy is a third of a second

From a standing start, acceleration = velocity / time

acceleration = 19.666 mps / 0.33333 = 59 meters per second square

Thats 6 G of acceleration being put upon the passengers of the Mercedes. That ain't good. At 5 gs people lose consciousness.

Now, my exact numbers may be off by some, but the equations are valid, and the point remains: cars absorbing kinetic energy is GOOD. Cars taking damage is GOOD (if done outside of passenger zones), because that keeps the G-forces from reaching the passengers (BAD).

Please get the energy-absorbing elements of your Mercedes rear-bumper checked out!

[mupcat]

Oh I am so glad I asked! What an amazing story, and you told it beautifully. Thanks so much for sharing.

There are many stories like that and, IMO, there's really only one answer and that is we really are attended by guardian angels....no, not in all situations, but when all other logical solutions have been explored and discarded and we're left with none other but the unexplainable then it should certainly be enough to strengthen our beliefs.

[Spktyr]

Car seats have airbags in them now. Guess what happens if you short out two wires with the chop saw.

[Jack Hammer]

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”

Hebrews 13

[Mrs. Don-o]

I love that quote! My mother used to say that: and she was the most kind-hearted, hospitable woman, even toward people who wee -— m -— a little odd. I feel sure she “entertained angels unawares.”

[angcat]

It’s an Angel.

[nascarnation]

The airbag had deployed - for sure.

[DNME]

I believe there are two kinds of angels.

The first kind is akin to this priest at the accident scene. A mysterious stranger appears, does something wonderful, then disappears. It’s a wonderful thing and God should be thanked for his intercession.

The second kind of angel is YOU!! When God needs a small task performed, sometimes he taps one of His Children on the shoulder and says, “Go do dat.”

My favorite example of this came while I was driving an airport limo. I had just dropped off my fare and was about to pull away from the curb when I overheard a woman on her cell phone who sounded frustrated and angry.

For no good reason, I walked up and asked what was wrong. She said her airport limo had dropped her off at the wrong terminal and she had to get to the opposite side of the airport in 15 minutes or miss her flight. I knew the shuttle schedule and realized there was no flippin’ way she could make the far terminal in time.

So, in violation of company policy, I loaded her and her friend and all of their luggage into my limo and scampered across the concrete jungle. (And for those of you who remember how “gentlemen” are supposed to operate, no I did not accept her offer of compensation. That was my “good deed for the day.”)

When the little voice says to do something, just do it. You never know when you might be fulfilling a small corner of God’s ultimate plan!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Mrs. Don-o.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3052197/posts

[Spktyr]

Side or seat airbags do not deploy in front or rear collisions.

[VerySadAmerican]

Me, too. Both my wife and I saw her but later when we talked about it we saw her differently. She disappeared after she did what she was sent to do.

[little jeremiah]

My hub is a firefighter and he’s told stories about car crashes and extrications. They are not easy to do most of the time, and they are well trained, have various tools, and if they did not go in from the back, there was a reason for it.

[little jeremiah]

A finite mind can’t comprehend an infinite God.

---

Yes indeedy. And when a person accepts that, God can give him the understanding that transcends the mere mind.

[NYer]

Catholic ping!

[FourtySeven]

Thanks for the ping and post; a great heartwarming story!

[aimee5291]

this thread/post is much appreciated..inspirational

thank you