Paramedics Reunite with Montgomery Teen After 'Miraculous' Recovery

Lieutenant/Paramedic Brandon Fairfield (left), Samantha Garcia, Firefighter/Paramedic Jason Rothenberg reunited this week for the first time since near-fatal crash two years ago. Credit: Submitted photo

On Monday — more than two years after a car crash almost took her life — a Montgomery teen reunited with the first responders who came to her aid that fateful day.

On July 1, 2012, Bristol Kendall Fire Department paramedics arrived to the scene of the crash at 9124 Route 30 in Bristol to find 17-year-old Samantha Garcia critically injured in a soy bean field after being ejected from the vehicle she was driving.

Paramedics assessed her condition and quickly determined that she needed to be rushed to a trauma center for rapid stabilization of her head injury.

“The paramedics immobilized her and assisted her breathing with oxygen administration while quickly removing her to the ambulance,” the fire department said in a press release this week. “They were en route to the hospital within eight minutes from their arrival on the scene and performed additional supportive care while driving to the closest hospital being Rush-Copley in Aurora.”

As a result of their quick actions, Garcia was further stabilized and flown by helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she received state-of-the-art neurological care for her head injury.

On Monday, met with paramedics from Bristol Kendall Fire Department Station 3, who had read about her ”miraculous” recovery. In a YouTube video, Garcia’s mom, Lisa, said the teen was ejected head first from the vehicle after it rolled five or six times. Samantha was in a drug-induced coma for two weeks following the crash, but despite an initially grim prognosis, she beat the odds to make an amazing recovery.

Watch the video for more on Samantha’s recovery.

A year after the crash, Garcia had recovered enough from severe head trauma and bone-crushing injuries to walk on her own during an event in her honor after being named the Honorary Beneficiary for the ATI Foundation Metal Walk.

Read: After Near Fatal Accident, Local Teen is Honored

Paramedics’ reunion with their former patient included cake and photos of Garcia’s life since her accident. The teen plans to go to college and become an exercise personal trainer.