Anhydrous Crash Victim Comes to Effingham to Say Thanks

(FROM LEFT, FIREFIGHTER BEN SIEMER, TERRIE TUDOR, MICKEY BARTLE AND FIREFIGHTER JOHNATHAN PAHOLKE)

One of the people seriously injured last September following a crash east of Teutopolis and a subsequent release of anhydrous ammonia was back in the area Monday to say "thank you" to those who helped her.

Terrie Tudor of Union, Missouri was a passenger in a truck driven by her friend, Dan Smith, a pastor. They had been to watch the son of a friend perform in the Cumberland High School marching band. They were headed west on Route 40 on their way home when they came upon a person in the roadway signaling to them. Smith's truck ran off the highway and struck an embankment. Smith got out of the truck, but Tudor remained in the vehicle as the anhydrous began to leak from a separate truck. 

While Smith was fatally injured, Tudor was helped by the direction of the wind, kept the truck door closed, and used her sweatshirt to minimize the effects of the anhydrous.

In the meantime, Teutopolis and Montrose firefighters were searching for those affected by the crash and the anhydrous release. Effingham Fire Lieutenant John Stroud, and Firefighters Ben Siemer and Johnathan Paholke heard Tudor honking the horn of the truck and became aware they had a survivor. They used a RIT PAK that directly sends air into a patient's lungs and then moved Tudor to an EMS worker for care. She was then taken to a hospital elsewhere for further care. 

Tudor was in a coma for two weeks. When she came out of the coma, she had lost her vision and was on a ventilator.

Tudor was in the hospital for nine weeks. Since then, though, she has regained her sight...20/25 in one eye and 20/300 in the other eye...but her doctor believes her sight will return to normal. 

The firefighters knew they were in a critical situation. As the saying they've heard before goes..."if you can smell it (the anhydrous), you're in it". They were on their third tank of air before the search was completed. 

As Tudor's condition improved, she wanted to thank those who had helped her. She said during Monday's visit, her birthday is July 3rd, and she was thankful that she was blessed with another birthday. Tudor and Effingham Fire Chief Brant Yochum began sending messengers to one another and arranged Monday's visit to the Effingham fire station. Bob and Allene Blade of Greenup, friends of Tudor, brought Tudor and her 91-year-old mother, Mickey Bartle, to Fire Station #1. Stroud was out of the area on vacation so could not attend, but Siemer and Paholke were on hand for a happy reunion. 

Tudor understands that the firefighters were doing their job, but said, "they saved my life." She said the Effingham area is "one lucky community" to have the emergency workers in this area.

Tudor also recognized and gave a big hug to Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes, who helped Tudor and others injured, as well as the media locally and literally across the nation with the conditions of those impacted by the incident.