LETTER: Tragic accident made worse by loss of personal effects

On Feb. 24 at approximately 4 p.m. my wife was in a single car accident out in Kila, less than a half mile from home. I was the fourth person on the scene and was able to be with her while waiting for first responders to arrive.

She was not conscious and having trouble breathing. The two young men that were helping to support her head and neck were on the scene within just minutes of the accident. The first responder was a highway patrolman. He placed a nasal tube to help with her airway, while we waited for the ambulance to arrive. Within five minutes the ambulance arrived and many paramedics and firefighters began to assess her injuries and attempted stabilization. The car was down a steep bank so they used a rope to help carry the stretcher up to the roadside and into the ambulance.

The Alert helicopter then arrived and landed in the middle of Brown’s Meadow Road, where they waited for her to be stabilized for flight to the hospital. The paramedics and RN’s had to start CPR while in the ambulance and were able to stabilize her for the flight to KRMC.  While in flight, they lost her pulse and needed to begin CPR, which continued at the ER.

Despite all of their efforts they were unable to save her. My last time to hold her hand while she was still alive was at the accident scene and then in the ER, I had to face the fact that she was gone. Seeing her with tubes for airways and chest tubes was something that I will never forget. I lost my friend, my wife and my love.

At the scene of the accident, while waiting for her to be readied for transport and not knowing the extent of her injuries, I went to the car to retrieve her wallet with insurance information and attempted to pick up various items that were around the car, including a coat, blanket and her cellphone.  

At that point the highway patrolman in charge of the accident investigation told me that I could not take any of these things. These items were considered evidence and would have to remain with the vehicle. He told me that the vehicle would be towed to a secure facility until the investigation was completed. A tow truck hauled the car to the lot, and since the patrolman said it would all be secure, I felt comfortable with leaving these items.

About a week after the accident the highway patrolman contacted me, saying he could not find the phone and that the car was released to me to gather personal items. When I went to gather these items from my wife’s car I found it unlocked and not in a secure facility. The tow company owner had no idea where the phone was, nor did the Highway Patrol.

Now I no longer have my wife’s phone that held many photos from our last family gathering. The value of the phone doesn’t matter. It is what was on it that was priceless to me. I want everyone to know that this happened, and in a time of loss/grief, this should never happen to a family.

If anyone found the phone or picked it up out of the car, I would just like it back for the memories that it holds on it. There is no way to replace the pictures the phone held on it — some of the last photos of her enjoying life.

If they considered the items in her car to be potential evidence, then it should have been properly cared for. The lack of this makes me angry.

We do not know the reason for the accident. My wife always wore her seatbelt and rarely ever drove the speed limit, always 10-15 mph under. For whatever reason it appears she was distracted, which led her off the road. I would like to thank the people who were there on the scene, from those who came on the accident to the medical responders and volunteer firefighters, ALERT crew and ER staff. I have felt an overwhelming amount of support from so many friends, co-workers, neighbors and family, which has made a difficult time more bearable.

Thank you to all for the loving support.

— Jore is a resident of Kila.