So Yesterday evening I'm ready to head off and get a haircut, the wife is getting ready to start dinner, and it's another normal evening at the Kelly family household. Phone rings, I'm uploading the pictures I'd just taken of the P-car, and was in my own little world, when it stopped spinning.

My sister inlaw, who is my wife's brother Ricky's wife, has apparently been in one of the most horrific accidents you could imagine... Sitting stopped with her left signal on to turn off the main two lane road to access the secondary road to go the 4 miles home. A semitruck with a full load from Schneider Turcking Inc. hit her with maybe 50 ft. of braking skid marks before impact. Upon impact, Donna's car was turned to the left and slid sideways at a 90 degree angle, in the middle of oncoming traffic. coming in the other direction was two college kids heading back to Va. Tech. The poor girl driving had NO time to respond and impacted the passenger side firewall/ Suspension/door at approximately 60MPH.

The pictures below speak volumes. However, I'm fortunate to report that my sister inlaw is not dead. She will likely have to be in a wheel chair, paralized from the waist down for the rest of her life (We're holding out hope against this), and will go thru many many months of surgery. She's got a crushed pelvis, broken ribs, Broken collar bone, broken leg, broken hip, broken feet, a broken ankle... And more tubes than I've seen in anyone who should be dead... She was revived three times, has cuts to her liver, kidney, pancreas, bladder, bruised lungs with fluid on them, the break in the spine (We've been told that it's 99% sure she's wheelchair bound for life.) and many other breaks...

The two kids in the secondary impact were seriously injured as well, and I met the parents of the driver, the daughter, today. We wanted to check on them and make sure they were taken care of, and do what we could for them. The parents were simply devistated and the pain and emotion over the last 24 hours has been inexplicable. Needless to say, our family has been rocked to its core.

I'm not sure how this will play out, but the driver of the semi has been charged. Gross negligence is an understatement. I did find it in horrific poor taste that a representative for the insurance company of the trucking company showed up at 1AM this morning to inquire about "assistance". I'm sure this is a corporate policy, and the flip side would be "That damned trucking company never even asked about how we were!" But at 1AM, I was ready to hand that "representative" her **** in a jar.

If you're so inclined, Pray for Donna Mcclung and the Mcclung family. They're as close a family as I have, and it breaks my heart to see such a wonderful, sweet person fall victom to such tragedy.

Mike








Thanks Guys...

Mike

 

May God smile down on her.

 

I wish there was something I could say but after seeing that car I'm speechless.

 

Oh my G-d, the fact that she survived is already a miracle. May she have a full and complete recovery and no memory of this horrific accident.

 

Mike,

I had heard about the accident, I live in Fredericksburg as well.

You are your family are in my prayers. May God smile down on her and send an angel to sit on her shoulder.

 

As others have said, I am speechless. Not much anyone can say at this point that would be of any comfort i am sure. We're all hoping for the best.

 

"...revived three times..."

Wow. sounds like somebody's burning through their alotment of miracles...

My wife and I will certainly pray that there are still a few more left in her que.




And Mike,

I work in a hospital and I can tell you that one of the biggest things to do is to take care of the OTHER people, too. Trained professionals are working on her... but the family is sometimes left hanging. Your brother must be going out of his mind right now, and probably isn't eating or sleeping. He's headded straight for getting so sick that he can't be with his wife in the hospital, and that's just a vicious circle. Make sure he eats. Make sure he gets (at least SOME) sleep. When she opens her eyes, it should be a loving husband she sees and not a worn out wreck of a man...

I know it's easier said than done, but just try to remind everyone that in order to be there for HER, they have to be healthy enough to be strong.

Good luck and God Bless.

 

What a horrible tragedy! I lived in Orange from 1981-1985 and remember some horrific wrecks along Route 20 (I lived on Lahore Road which intersects RT 20 at Gas & Stuff). I PMed Mike to ask if this was the same family I knew when I was there and there were too many clues between the pictures and the article on fredericksburg.com to confirm my fears.

 

 

Prayers sent

 

Mike, I don't know why bad things happen to good people. You and the Mcclung family are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

I too am speechless. We can only hope for the best for all involved. Please keep us posted on Donna.

 

Wow, I am pulling for everyone involved to make a speedy and 100 percent recovery. Please keep us posted.

 

May God watch over the McClung family in their time of need.

 

Prayer sent for her and the family.

 

God bless your family & many prayers. Life on earth can be a living hell & sometimes the only thing that keeps you sane is your family & friends. This was a horrific occurance & it sounds like there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. Keep the faith brother.

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with Donna and all the family.

 

Those pictures....oh my God....

I can do nothing but send lots of these your way---------->

 

AMEN !!!

 

..........totally speechless.