A bit of a special guest edition of the Channel 19 blog today from Peter Rosenberger, who tells quite a tale of uplift in the wake of tragedy, one that involves a group of highway haulers who were instrumental in the first moments of his wife’s on-road tragedy. Today, it just so happens, is the 35th anniversary of the accident, and here Rosenberger expresses his deepest thanks for their help these decades later.
Rosenberger is the president of Standing With Hope, the ministry he and his wife, Gracie, founded following the amputation of her legs. Through a prosthetic limb ministry and a radio program for caregivers, the two seek to reach the wounded, and those caring for them.
Truckers and trauma, by Peter Rosenberger
On Interstate 40 in west Tennessee, a young woman in a sedan sped past a group of truckers on November 18, 1983. Maneuvering her car in front of the lead trucker, she stayed a bit out in front of him for a while on the long stretch of highway.
Minutes later, however, he noticed something different. Her car started weaving.
Swearing under his breath, he saw her head slump over on the steering wheel. Flashing his lights and honking his horn, he vainly tried to get her attention. Using his CB radio, he alerted the truckers around him of the impending danger. Another trucker pulled into the lane beside him; Together they formed a rolling barricade to keep other vehicles from getting near the now out of control driver — who raced ahead at 70 mph.
Continuing to flash lights and blare horns, they watched helplessly as she veered to the right. Mowing over a roadside marker, she collided with one of the concrete abutments flanking a bridge. The rear of the car launched into the air and the sedan flipped across the small ravine — slamming the trunk into the other side of the bridge’s supporting wall. The car then tumbled into the creek bed.
Ten truck drivers pulled their rigs over while calling for help on their radios. Grabbing fire extinguishers, they leaped from their cabs and raced down the embankment to the now burning car.
