Guess you won't be in one of these. Better wear your helmet.
Posted on 04/10/2008 8:02:25 AM PDT by Between the Lines
"God put me there, not to watch, but to help." That is how Tim Scott of Bristol, Virginia explains his presence at the fiery crash on the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 near exit 69 Tuesday, April 9th.
Scott, who stopped to help after seeing a tractor trailer, driven by Larry Harvey of Princeton, West Virginia, dragging a 1987 Oldsmobile down the interstate, just happened to have a fire extinguisher in his vehicle. Another passerby who also stopped to help, Jeff Kegley of Seymour, Tennessee, said the fire extinguisher was the key piece of equipment that helped save two women, 58 year old Alice Collins of Bristol, Tennessee and her 86 year old mother, Mayme Blevins, from being burned to death.
"You could tell he knew what he was doing. He was fighting the base of the fire. He wasn't just shooting everywhere. He was actually shooting the base of the fire. When I saw that, I thought he knows what he's doing, let's see what we can do."
Kegley, his wife Michelle, a dialysis nurse, and third man, Allen Menzel of Surgoinsville, Tennessee then went to work.
"Allen had already gotten there and taken the seatbelts off and had the first lady out. And the elderly lady, we just grabbed her by her feet, I mean no consideration at all and jerked her out," said Kegley.
According to Menzel, the men and women first on the scene simply reacted. "God opens up a door of opportunity, you got to go through it. You can't stand around and wait."
As fiberoptic workers, both Menzel and Jeff Kegley travel Interstate 81 frequently. But, Kegley rarely travels as far north as exit 69. Menzel said coincidence just cannot explain how everyone ended up where they did that Tuesday morning.
"God timed everything perfectly. He didn't want anybody to die right then and there. He wanted life, and that's what happened."
For Alice Collins' husband, Howard, the timing was a blessing. "We definitely give God the credit. It's just a miracle."
It may be nothing short of a miracle that a 4th man showed up on the scene of the accident before emergency responders could get there.
Father Kevin Millsaps of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Bluff City was running late for an appointment at King College. But, Jeff Kegley said Millsaps was right on time to offer prayers for all three victims in the crash.
"His words were so perfect for anybody listening, it was uplifting, the whole thing."
A doctor also arrived on the scene before ambulances could take the three victims to Bristol Regional Medical Center for treatment.
According to Alice Collins, the doctor is her mother's physician.
"I do believe we were all there at that time for a reason. I really do," said Menzel.
The three people involved in the wreck received minor cuts, scrapes and bruises. Both Alice Collins and Blevins were sore a day after the wreck, but walking. Harvey could not be reached.
God works in mysterious ways.
Does God get the credit for the accident also, or just for having the people being there to help?
I’d like to know who was cited for being the cause of the accident. It’s not likely to be God.
I’m guessing God knew the accident was going to happen. He does work in mysterious ways.
Guess you won't be in one of these. Better wear your helmet.
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