ATV accident survivor
On September 6th, 1992 at the ripe ole age of 15, my life would change forever. I have one sibling whom is 9 years older than I. She had a 2 & 4 year old at the time. One day she invited me to go with her & her husband and the kids and some other family members to their cabin for a weekend getaway. You had to be flown in by air to reach the cabin. I had known how to drive an ATV since the age of 10. So I was in charge of giving the kids short rides here and there to keep them having fun. So on the morning of the 6th my best, best little buddy, 4 year old, Zach came to me and begged for a ride to the bridge where he loved to fish. I agreed. I grabbed the keys and told the group of adults standing outside where we were headed; they waved us on. I was driving super slow when suddenly, from out of nowhere, appeared a small rock on the dirt path which sent us down the embankment toward the roaring river, tumbling over huge boulders. I attempted to throw him off when wouldn’t you know, our legs became entangled. We landed both severely trapped under this heavy machine. The gasoline was gushing out and straight into Zach’s mouth and face. I attempted to direct the gas flow away from his face, but my efforts were futile. He pleaded with me to get it off because it hurt. Suddenly, everything went into slow motion and I could hear nothing. I then just looked over at him and grabbed his hand, as he slipped into unconsciousness. I finally managed to free myself from under the machine and screamed and screamed and my screams didn’t go unnoticed, as from across the river came running a fisherman who’d heard my cries. After we got Zach out, the nice man began CPR. We were both immediately flown to the nearest hospital, where unfortunately my best friend passed away a few hours later. The doctor had told my sister they were able to get his heart started, but he was brain dead, then next he said, “hearts are stupid as they don’t know when to give up.” The reason I’ve chosen to share my story by writing a book is that I wish to help other’s with the process of grief, but mainly what can happen when survivors guilt gets you stuck in one of the stages of grief.
