Trooper Tracy/ Illinois

 #storytime. Once upon a time I was a road Trooper. I had just moved from Chicago to back where I grew up as a kid. I was just weeks from my wedding day. I headed to work my evening shift. I got called to a crash. It was a bad one. My heart raced as I heard the details.

I wasn’t far away. “X-88 it’s a 10-50 PI with entrapment. Two vehicles, head on with a pickup truck. Multiple injuries.” I don’t remember when I learned there was a small child involved, but it was a little baby. I mean little. Just a few weeks old. My heart sank. The crash was a mess. Car and truck were crumbled up like aluminum foil. Fluids were everywhere. The driver of the car was hurt. Very badly. She was alert and crying. Trapped. I was beside her talking to her. The ambulance crew and firemen arrived. They had pulled the car seat out of the back seat.

The little boy was crying. His dad arrived on scene. I wasn’t really involved with the other driver of the truck or the baby. I was more with the mom. We waited for the helicopter to land. It took what seemed like forever to get her cut out of the car. They loaded her and transported her to the hospital. Something didn’t sit well with me. I was so concerned about that baby. He didn’t have any visible injuries. Upon arrival at the hospital, I met up with the driver’s family and told them my concerns with the potential for injuries in the infant given how violent the head on crash was. I mentioned it wouldn’t hurt to bring him to the emergency room to have him checked further. The paramedics on scene had looked him over but maybe another set of eyes would be good. They brought him in that night.

Fast forward to weeks later, I spoke to his mom (or a family member) who told me she was in a nursing home to recover from her injuries and that the little guy had injuries that definitely needed addressed that night. I don’t recall the exact words, but I think she said something about a broken leg and internal bleeding. She thanked me then. Over and over. And then years later I ran into her at the grocery store and she introduced herself and reminded me of the crash. I left in tears. To hear a mom say that I saved her son’s life is something I hadn’t been prepared for.

Remember, I was excited for my upcoming wedding and I’m sure I was just working my shifts leading up to that weekend of the wedding. Another day responding to a another crash. That what we do as Troopers. We work our calls, crashes, traffic stops and we provide service and protection for the occupants of the vehicles. To me it was nothing out of the ordinary. Every day is different out here.

I didn’t pull him from a vehicle or perform CPR or do anything that I thought was miraculous. All I did was express my concern for ensuring he be checked over again in the ER. That may have even been over stretching my role, but at that time I had seen very tragic crashes and multiple fatals in my career and I didn’t want them to overlook anything. I would have wanted a Trooper to do that for me if I were in her shoes as the driver and had an infant in a crash. I’m so glad they did. Just this morning his mom commented on a post I did asking how people came to the Trooper Tracy page. I teared up instantly. Maybe he was the one in my career I was meant to save. He will be 16 in June. My heart is full. ❤️