Two die in crash, three others injured
Couple escape crash
and render aid to
fatally injured boy
by Teresa Eubanks, CLJNews.com
BLOUNTSTOWN – “We were westbound, they were eastbound. She lost control and almost hit us,” says Michelle Phillips, who, along with her husband, Mike, were leaving Blountstown after meeting friends for a late lunch Sunday on their way to Panama City Beach.
Not long after leaving the restaurant, Michelle found herself kneeling on the grass along SR 20 to comfort a dying child.
“By the grace of God, we got out of the way,” she said about nearly being hit by the oncoming car that ran into their path on SR 20 near Charlie Wood Road. “She overcorrected, ran into our lane…we could hear the tires screeching,” she said. The vehicle carrying five people begin heading off the road into the front yard of a home, where it “rolled over at least four or five times,” she said. Her husband called 911 while she brought their car to a safe stop.
They rushed toward the overturned car, which had landed on its roof, to see how they could assist while waiting for help.
“I could see that one lady was deceased,” she said. “Another lady was talking and a man, who had been unconscious and was coming to. A woman was asking, ‘Where’s my grandma?’”
Her husband cautioned her not to come any nearer, wanting to shield her from the sight of a child’s legs sticking out from underneath the car that was pinning him down. “I think he got thrown forward and the car ended up on top of him,” she said. “Nothing can prepare you for a situation like that.”
When she realized “a lot of people came to help the adults on the other side of the car” she knew there was no way she could leave the child. “Somebody had to stay with him,” she said.
The boy, who was just eight years old, was moving his legs. She offered what comfort she could. “He lived for a short time, but died before rescue workers got there,” she said.
“I want the family to know I stayed with the child and rubbed his legs and kept talking to him, telling him help was on the way. I was with him when he passed peacefully. This is so heartbreaking and will be with me forever,” she said.
Two of the five people traveling in the car died.
The couple had traveled from Michigan to celebrate the new year at Panama City Beach. “We tried to go to the festivities,” she said. They didn’t stay out long and returned to their condo early, she said, explaining, “I just couldn’t be around a bunch of kids last night.”
A relative of the child responded to the story of the crash posted on CLJNews.com and told Michelle, “I want to thank you for being there with Tyler. It makes it a little easier knowing he didn’t die alone.”
Another family member reached out and told Michelle, “We are all torn up over the loss of Tyler. His mother died two years ago so he’s with her in Heaven now. Thanks for trying to help keep Tyler alive.”
About Author
