A woman fell 75 feet in while attempting to help victims of a car crash in Maryland.
Angela Weir, a nurse, was driving to the gym with her husband at 5 a.m. on Aug. 3 when she witnessed a crash on Interstate 70 in Frederick, Maryland. “There were brake lights and just a ball of fire, and we both simultaneously just went, ‘Whoa,’” Weir told WBAL-TV.
Weir, a shock trauma nurse for the past 13 years, said that her instincts kicked in and she rushed to help.
“I know very well that I am not a first responder, but I am a trained trauma nurse. I know that I can at least call him someone or keep them safe until a first responder arrives, and that was my intention,” Weir told the station.
However, when Weir hopped over a barrier, she didn’t realize there was no shoulder on the other side, and she instead fell 75 feet, landing in the Monocacy River.
“As I jumped over, I hurdled it, basically, and my feet didn’t hit anything. Nothing. And I just began falling,” Weir added. “I did a simple vault. I was expecting to plant my feet on the ground and run, and when that didn’t happen, my brain just went to such a horrible place.”
According to WBAL-TV, it was pitch black and she couldn’t see anything. “I don’t know for what length of time I fell, but it seemed like a long time, and the thoughts were just, ‘I can’t believe I just did this,’ and, ‘I’m going to die,’” Weir said.
After she hit the water, she swam to shore.
“I don’t remember the impact, but I was instantly in the water and completely aware,” Weir said. “Eventually, I was able to call my husband’s name, and he didn’t hear me, but a lady heard me, and I heard her say, ‘There’s somebody down there.’”
Miraculously, Weir only suffered minor injures.
“I should’ve had a pelvic fracture. I should’ve had a spinal fracture, I should’ve had a head injury. I should’ve had rib fractures,” Weir told the station.
It took 90 minutes for rescuers to reach her and she was airlifted to the same hospital she works at, she told People magazine. “I got to work on time---actually, 10 minutes early,” she quipped.
Weir also said that she'd just finished reading a book called “Before the Fall.”
When asked if she would do it again, Weir replied: “In my line of work, there’s no way you’re going to sit back and watch something happen. If someone is needing help, I’m not going to not do it. No way.”
