Fair Haven Woman, 24, Honored For Saving Man's Life

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — On Friday night at the Navesink Fireman's Fair, a local young woman was honored because she may have saved a man's life after a bad car accident on Navesink River Road.

The young woman is Molly Frank, 24, who grew up Fair Haven. It is Molly's dream to become a labor and delivery nurse, and she just applied to the nursing program at Brookdale Community College.

Molly's nursing skills came in handy on the afternoon of July 13:

It was about 3 p.m. that day. She was driving home from her job as a medical assistant at an OB/GYN in Holmdel. She was driving down Navesink River Road when she approached its well-known sharp "S" curve.

"There was a horrific accident. It involved two cars and I saw an older man just sitting on the side of the road, in a chair," she said.

She immediately pulled over and got out to help. She remarked "how many people just kept passing and were in such a hurry to get by. I was like, geez people can't you see there's been a really bad accident?"

"The man's car was completely crashed. It was smoking and that's why he had gotten out of his car," she said. "The other driver remained at the scene, but in his car; I think he did not realize how serious the accident was."

The injured man was 79 years old, said Navesink firefighters.

"I asked him, are you OK? He said yes. But then I looked down and I saw all this blood on the ground. I was like, where is all this blood coming from? He had a very deep cut about five inches wide to his left leg. The cut was very deep, to the bone," she said.

She sprung into action. She said a teenage boy, about 17, also stopped to help.

"I asked him to go to my car where I always keep a first aid kit in my trunk. He did and I put on the gloves I always keep in there, and immediately applied pressure to the wound. I also kept talking to the man, asking him if he felt OK, if he lived in the area, etc. just to keep him alert. I was just praying EMTs would come soon because I knew it wasn't good."

She thinks the elderly man did not realize how badly he had been injured.

"There was so much blood coming out of him. I asked him, are you on blood thinners? He said yes," she said. "That's when I knew I really could not let up the pressure on his leg. He was at risk of bleeding out. I just kept talking to him to keep him alert and conscious until help arrived."

When Navesink firefighters got there, they immediately recognized the seriousness of the injury and told Molly not to move and to keep the pressure on his leg.

"His leg had been fractured and punctured," said third assistant Middletown fire chief Kevin Morrissey, who was the first on the scene. "But when we got there she had the situation under control. I was really impressed by how surprisingly calm she was and not panicked. The man was losing a lot of blood."

EMTs arrived, and still she did not let the pressure up until the man was fully loaded onto a stretcher to be taken to Riverview Medical Center by ambulance. He survived; Molly has never reconnected with him.

Thinking of other people is part of how she was raised. Her father is a retired lieutenant with Little Silver Police, and her grandfather was the Fair Haven Chief of Police. She said it was her father and grandfather who taught her to stop and help when they see people in need.

"I've stopped before when I see car accidents," said the young woman. "I just always feel like if I can do something, I should do something. I want to make a difference. Everyone is always in such a rush these days to get somewhere. It's OK to be five minutes late to work if you stopped to help someone."

"Even if it's just stopping to ask if someone is OK. I just want to make sure people know they are not alone."

On Friday night, Molly was recognized for her actions by the Navesink Hook & Ladder Fire Co., Middletown Mayor Tony Perry and others. The last night of the Fireman's Fair is Saturday evening: Navesink Hook & Ladder Fireman's Fair Aug. 10-12