The coronavirus pandemic and deaths from COVID-19 may be all we’ve been talking about over the last year or so, but there’s another major cause of deaths worldwide that shouldn’t be ignored: car crashes.
According to WHO, approximately 1.35 million people lose their lives on a yearly basis due to car crashes, while another 20 to 50 million suffer non-fatal injuries, some of which result in disabilities.
Statistics show that the vast majority of those involved in fatal car accidents are males, while road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults between 5 and 29 years old.
But why do deaths occur? Besides the common risk factors, such as poor road infrastructure or unsafe driving, one key reason is inadequate post-crash care. In other words, the delay of help even if it is only minutes can have fatal consequences.
Indeed, in the case of young mom Elizabeth Benson, if help had arrived fifteen minutes later, she wouldn’t have been alive today.
“Another extra 15 minutes I would have been dead. That would’ve been it. I bled out internally,” Benson told CBS Chicago.
On September 11, 2020, Elizabeth was driving on Grand Avenue in Lindenhurst with her 6-year-old daughter in the back seat, when she lost control of her car.
“There’s a spot on Grand Avenue where the water collects up, and I hydroplaned through that water and lost control of my car. That’s the last thing I remember,” she explained.
Her car got stuck between two trees, she was severely injured, unlike her daughter, who was literally unharmed.
The smart little girl, who was wearing a seatbelt, just like her mom, managed to get herself out of the crashed car and return to the road, looking for help.
It was after 10pm and it was dark, but the little girl was determined to get help for her trapped mom. She knew Elizabeth was in a lot of pain and in danger, so she tried to do whatever she could to help her.
Trina Martinez happened to be passing by that night, and she saw the headlights from a distance. At first, she didn’t pay attention, but soon she regretted it, and drove back to take a look.
“I noticed a car in the bushes,” Martinez said, adding that she kept going. ““I questioned it, so I turned back around,” she said. “When I pulled up I heard her daughter crying for help.”
Martinez found Jennine, Elizabeth’s daughter, who took her to the crashed car. The woman immediately called 911 and she waited for the first responders to arrive with Elizabeth and the little hero.
The woman’s condition was very serious. “She fractured her pelvis in 5 places, broke her tailbone, 4 ribs, which collapsed her left lung and perforated her spline and caused serious internal bleeding. She also shattered her shoulder blade.”
Benson spent six days in the intensive care unit, and another three in a hospital room, before she returned home, but she’s still far from getting her old life back.
Her injuries will take time to heal, and she’ll be needing 24/7 care until they do. But, the good thing is she and her daughter are alive. Thanks to their guardian angel, the good Samaritan who was there for them when they needed her.
Benson will be forever grateful to Martinez.
In the video below, you can watch more details on the story.
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