Teen survives automobile crash with damaged neck after automobile rolled
A teenage girl has miraculously survived a car accident which almost left her paralyzed.
Aleah Orr, a 16-year-old from Rigby, Idaho, was on her way to the Mike Walker Boat Dock to go fishing on May 12, her mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day, when she collided with a guard rail.
‘She missed her turn and her (GPS) maps dinged and said she missed her turn and she looked at her maps,’ her mother Sarah told East Idaho News.
‘Next thing she knew, she hit the guardrail — and the speed limit out there is 55 so it’s high speed — and (flipped her car) like 50 feet … she landed feet from the river.’
Had it not been for the way her seat was positioned during the crash, Aleah could have been left paralyzed.
Aleah Orr, a 16-year-old from Rigby, Idaho, was on her way to the Mike Walker Boat Dock to go fishing when the accident occurred
‘She missed her turn and her (GPS) maps dinged and said she missed her turn and she looked at her maps,’ her mother told East Idaho News
The impact shoved Aleah’s seat flat, leaving her tilted slightly to the right. Wedged against the backseat, her neck and head strained against the back seat’s backrest. She was pinned down by a piece of the car with her seatbelt still fastened as the detached headrest lay beside her.
‘She couldn’t get out. She said that was the scariest part,’ Sarah mentioned. ‘She was screaming for help and trying to get up but she couldn’t get up.’
A couple driving behind Sarah noticed the dust cloud on the other side of the guard rail. They pulled over, discovered Aleah’s car in the ravine, and immediately called 911.
Sarah, whose Aleah’s emergency contact, first received word of the crash through a notification on her phone.
Her mother, a firefighter and paramedic herself, called multiple times and didn’t receive a response. That’s when she got in her car, called 911, and drove to the boat dock.
‘(Dispatch) said there was a report of a crash,’ Sarah recalled. ‘My first question was was it one or two cars? And my second question was is she in the river? They verified she was not.’
A woman at the scene called her mother, and reassured her that Aleah was awake and able to communicate.
The calm demeanor of the woman’s voice made the incident seem like it wasn’t all that serious, Sarah said. When she saw the reality of the situation, she couldn’t believe her daughter was alive.
‘She was very calm so that eased me thinking okay, it’s not so bad, but then when I got there and saw the state of the car, my heart dropped,’ she said. ‘I’ve seen less of a crash do more damage or take people’s lives.’
The fire department removed Aleah from the wreckage while holding her c-spine, a maneuver that keeps that head still in the rescue process that prevents spinal cord damage.
Had it not been for the way her seat was positioned during the crash, Aleah could have been left paralyzed
A couple driving behind Sarah noticed the dust cloud on the other side of the guard rail. They pulled over, discovered Aleah’s car in the ravine, and immediately called 911.
‘I think being pinned in the car was a blessing because of her injury that she had,’ Sarah said. ‘Had she gotten up, she could have done more damage or ultimately paralyzed herself, worst case scenario.’
The crash left her with several injuries, including a broken neck, a damaged left vertebral artery, a lung contusion, head lacerations, and a broken left hand. She was rushed to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake to undergo surgery with a specialist
Sarah said: ‘Anything to do with the cervical, the higher up the break is, the worse possible outcomes of (being) quadriplegic, unable to breathe, be on a ventilator the rest of your life, type-thing.
‘With the initial imaging, the doctor was like, ‘She’s so lucky. (There’s) maybe some contusions on her spinal cord and that’s why her limbs are weak right now.”
Surgery saved Aleah’s ability to walk by realigning her vertebral artery. Four vertebrae in her neck were fused with pins, stabilizing her spine. Remarkably, she walked just two days later and was discharged from the hospital on Friday.
On top of Aleah’s injury, her and her family have overcome several obstacles.
The past year and a half have been a whirlwind of loss for the Orr family. Sarah’s husband passed away, followed by the deaths of her husband’s best friend (practically an uncle to her children) and a beloved nephew.
Aleah said she believes all of the loved ones she lost were there to protect her during the wreckage.
‘Aleah says her cousin took the wheel and said ‘Hold on, cousin’ and her dad wrapped her up in his wings and kept her safe,’ Sarah mentioned. ‘She said she said a prayer before anybody got there and after she was done saying prayer, she knew everything would be okay.’
She suffered multiple injuries. including a broken neck at C-4 and C-5, a damaged left vertebral artery, a lung contusion, head lacerations, and a broken left hand
Surgery saved Aleah’s ability to walk by realigning her vertebral artery. Four vertebrae in her neck were fused with pins, stabilizing her spine
Remarkably, Aleah walked just two days later and was discharged from the hospital on Friday.
Sarah said she is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love and support from her community during these trying times.
‘It’s amazing how much support you really have when things go bad and I appreciate it,’ she said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help cover Aleah’s medical costs.
