Rescuers meet woman saved in car accident two years later

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (Dec. 14, 2018) – Marenna Ward’s life changed on Aug. 6, 2016 when she was involved in a catastrophic vehicle accident that left her with a permanent traumatic brain injury (TBI). A little more than two years later, she met and thanked the first responders from Paramedics Plus and Livermore/Pleasanton, Tracy and Alameda Fire Departments who saved her life.

On Aug. 6, Ward was traveling with her mother and sister to San Francisco Airport to catch a flight to Germany when a four-foot solid I-beam detached from a work truck on Interstate 580 as they traveled over the Altamont Pass. The vehicle in front of Ward’s car caught the beam, which flipped it upright. The beam traveled horizontally towards Marenna who was riding in the passenger seat and struck her in the face and left side of her head.

The blunt force of the impact left Ward with a major head injury trauma that initially rendered her unconscious. She had a splintered fracture to the left temporal side of her head and facial trauma. Paramedics Plus, Alameda County’s 911 provider, and crews from Livermore/Pleasanton and Tracy Fire Departments quickly arrived on the scene.

The crews extracted the cars’ passengers and transported them to the Eden Trauma Center within an hour of the accident. Ward was quickly moved into the operating room to undergo life-saving neurosurgery. She was able to walk upright three days later and she was discharged to rehabilitation only six days after her accident.

“One of trauma nurses told my mom later on that I was 60 seconds away from not making it into surgery, so if you guys had not done what you did for me and the timing, I would not be here,” said Ward about the first responders. “I want to thank every single person and every single pair of hands that played a part in giving me every opportunity to recover from the accident.”

“We knew we had a very critical patient and that we had to get on and off the scene quickly because time was a big factor,” said Joe Fagaundes, paramedic for Paramedics Plus. “It’s amazing to see her today and to see good outcomes.”

Today, Ward has worked hard to return to as much of a normal life as possible. She now works at Starbucks, and she’s in her second semester of college training to be a Registered Nurse. Ward met with first responders to recognize them for their quick and efficient care, and to shed light on how TBI is a hidden injury that others might not be able to visibly see.

“We see a small glimpse of a person, which is typically at the worst time of someone’s life and these things stay with us as much as they stay with the victim,” said Brandt Jorgenson, captain of Livermore Pleasanton Fire Department. “It’s very fulfilling to see a tragedy come full circle, especially this time of year, and have such a wonderful outcome. It really helps us throughout the span of our careers.”

About Paramedics Plus: Alameda County

Paramedics Plus is the 911 ambulance transport service for Alameda County, California. The organization employs more than 450 local residents and responds to approximately 146,000 calls per year. Highly accredited, Paramedics Plus utilizes state-of-the-art equipment and software, and is an innovator in industry’s best practices.