12/08/2024
I’d like to share with you an amazing story from our friend Derek Osborn of Tuscaloosa, Alabama (pictured here with his family).
Derek is trying to find a family that he helped rescue some 25 years ago.
Of course, that’s where we come in!
Check out Derek’s amazing story below, and then share the story so we can reunite these two families.
Writes Derek:
“I’ve waited for years to bring this up, but it is always on my mind this time of year, and I’m hoping FB or Twitter can help me reconnect to this family.
Around Dec. 23 of 1996 or 97, I was traveling home for Christmas from college in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As I was traveling down I-59 southward, I came upon a wrecked RV that had crashed literally seconds before I got there.
“To my recollection, it happened somewhere between the Fort Payne and Collinsville, Alabama exits. Myself and another older gentleman were the first people on the scene. We were the only people on the scene for what seemed like a very long time, although it was probably only a matter of minutes.
“The weather that day was miserable… cold, breezy and drizzling rain.
The family had veered off the wet interstate into a ditch and had hit a huge ravine that had essentially cut the RV in half.
The front end of the vehicle had been completely sheared off and was crumpled underneath the rest of the wreckage.
“All I could hear was the faint sound of crying.
All that I could see among the twisted metal was a man who appeared to be peacefully sleeping, and nearby… a diaper with two small legs sticking out of the mangled steel.
It was a baby.
The crying was not coming from the baby.
And I honestly couldn’t tell if the top half of the baby was intact, or crushed, or completely severed.
“As the older man and I assessed the scene, he told me he thought the seemingly sleeping man was going to be ok.
But I knew better.
His breathing was labored and with every passing second, his color kept changing to a more pale, blueish tint. He had no visible injuries.
But I knew he was not going to survive.
And he didn’t. I can only guess that the impact potentially broke his back and caused severe internal damage to his lungs.
But he passed away peacefully and for that at least, I was thankful.
“We then focused on the tiny legs that protruded from the crumpled mess.
The old man abruptly looked at me and said, “you’ve got to pull it out.”
I don't recall exactly how I responded, but it was probably something along the lines of… “me”?
He made it very clear that he had no intention of doing it.
“With my heart beating out of my chest and scared to death about what I was about to uncover, I grabbed those tiny ankles and carefully gave the baby a tug.
“On the first attempt, nothing moved. Whatever was left of the baby was forcefully lodged into the twisted metal and insulation and fiberglass, and I remember mentally preparing myself for what I was about to see.
I repositioned at a better angle, grabbed those ankles, and gave them a strong, steady pull.
Slowly, the baby’s body appeared covered in cuts and blood and then finally, the head.
The injuries seemed mostly superficial, but the baby was lifeless and not breathing.
I put it against my chest as if a young, male college student knew how to properly hold a baby (I didn’t).
“Roughly 10 seconds later and out of nowhere, that lifeless baby took a deep breath and then deservedly started crying its eyes out.
I’m pretty sure I smiled with joy and laughed as tears ran down my face… If you’ve never heard of someone being overjoyed because a baby cried, you have now.
“During all of this, a few more passersby had stopped to help us. 10-20 seconds after the baby started breathing and crying, a lady tapped me on the shoulder and reached out for it ready to wrap the baby in a blanket.
I remember not wanting to give the baby to anyone (protective instinct I guess) but she reassured me she would take care of it and said, ‘you did good.’
“At that point, we followed the cries. In the rear of what was left of the RV stood two or three little girls at the rear door… all scared to death, crying, cold, confused.
They were not seriously injured and we helped them down and got them to safety.
“Immediately following that, another gentleman ran around to tell me he needed my help at the front of the RV.
Then it hit me… where was the driver?
And was it the mother?
As mentioned above, the front of the RV was completely sheared off and laid somewhere underneath the rest of the wreckage.
Myself and three other gentlemen crawled underneath what was now the front of the vehicle and found what was left of the steering column. Pinned on top of the steering wheel was a woman hunched over, dangling motionless, with black or dark brown soaking wet hair completely covering her face.
It took all of us to pry her loose and get her out.
She was alive but unconscious and obviously had life-threatening injuries.
“Finally, the police and the paramedics showed up.
At the time, it seemed like forever.
But time in a surreal moment like that doesn’t follow the rules of reality and considering we were in rural Alabama at Christmas time, I think they did the best they could.
“After the ambulances arrived, one of the officers and a paramedic got me off to the side just to get more clarity on what had appeared to have happened.
They confirmed that the father had passed away and the mother was not doing well but that the children were all expected to recover.
The paramedic told me that I likely saved the baby from suffocating (I don't know if I did or didn’t… I just know that baby was breathing now!). As I went over to get in my car he said, ‘Be careful and Merry Christmas. You saved a baby today.’
“I thought about it all the way to Tuscaloosa.
No radio.
No cell phones then.
Shed a few tears.
Smoked a few ci******es.
My parents knew there was something wrong the minute I walked in. It was apparently all over my face.
“On Christmas night, after thinking about it non-stop and knowing that this family had just lost their father in a horrific accident, I decided to drive back to see if I could go visit them. They had been taken to the hospital in Chattanooga which was minutes away from where I was living.
I stopped and bought a big teddy bear for the kids.
I’m pretty sure I signed my name on the tag.
I got to see one of the little girls and gave it to her and spoke to a relative who had flown in.
“Through all of this, what I didn't get was contact information and I have no idea who they are or how to find them.
“Here is what I know:
• Not sure where they were traveling from, but they were headed to Texas to see family.
• They were taken to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga for treatment.
• The mother may have been in a coma and was going to have a rough road if she recovered. I don't know if she did.
• The baby would be 24 or 25 years old now.
• I think there were three older siblings, possibly all girls.
“This is probably not enough information, but I figured it was worth a shot.
I’d love to know how they all are doing now.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this.
“Hug your loved ones and be thankful you have them.
And I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.”
Wow!
Thank you to Derek for what he did 25 years ago.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we helped Derek finish the story?
Let’s do our thing and find this family!
(Let’s be sure to share in Tennessee, Alabama and Texas).
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