May 11, 2009 11:26 pm US/Eastern
Medevac Crash Survivor Shares Her Story
WALDORF, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Only one person survived the worst Medevac crash in state history. Jordan Wells shared her miraculous story exclusively with WJZ.
CBS
Eight months later, the fear is still fresh and the wounds are still healing.
Only one person survived the worst Medevac crash in state history. Jordan Wells shared her miraculous story exclusively with
Vic Carter, who looks at the future of Maryland's Medevac system.
Two Waldorf teens drove home after an evening at the carnival on a foggy, rainy night.
"Everything was in slow motion," said Jordan Wells.
The roads were soaked and slick. Wells' car hit a bump and slammed into a tree.
"Ashley and I just threw our hands in the air," she said.
Wells and her friend Ashley Younger were both injured.
"I was like, `This is it. I'm gonna die here,'" Wells said.
Only her nightmare was just beginning.
"I was still shaking when I got in the helicopter," she said.
Two medics escorted the teens into the helicopter and the pilot took off.
The same nasty weather that triggered the car accident was packing a greater punch.
"Everything happened so fast," Wells said.
Scraping through the trees, the chopper crashed to the ground. For two hours, while crews struggled to figure out what happened to the helicopter, Wells lay in the wreckage, bathed in fuel and with bones broken from head to toe.
"God hit me with the three things I hated," Wells said. "Pain, being cold and being alone."
The helicopter crashed a few miles from Andrews Air Force Base in the woods. Only Wells survived. Somehow, her stretcher slid out of the chopper before its final impact.
"I remember looking up at the sky, at the stars. I prayed to God. I said, `God, please send someone to save me,'" Wells said.
Finally, her prayers were answered.
"I just started crying for help over and over again, and then they just started running," she said. "They're thinking it's going to explode. I'm not, because I've been here for two hours. I'm like, `It hasn't exploded yet.' When I got into the ambulance, I felt such peace. I just started to let go."
Ten days later, when Jordan woke from her coma, her first words were an apology for crashing her dad's car.
She wasn't upset at losing her leg, either.
"I'd rather lose my limb than my life," she said.
But that same day was when Jordan learned her dear friend did not survive.
"I just broke down," she said. "I wish she was here."
The September crash led to a firestorm of controversy over the state's Medevac program. Decisions to transport now come under intense scrutiny. New safety recommendations include adding a pilot and a paramedic to each flight. The fleet of aging helicopters will be replaced beginning next year.
After more than 20 surgeries, Wells is making great strides, moving from a wheelchair to crutches and slowly regaining her independence.
"I don't know why I survived, but sometimes I feel just like God was giving me a second chance," she said.
Wells just got out of the hospital over the weekend after yet another surgery. She and her parents have a lawyer who is actively working to ensure that all of her medical costs are covered.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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