MONTREAL — A West Island mom has found one of the good Samaritans who helped save her son’s life.
After seeing the story on Global News, Darlene Phair received a call from the man who smashed the window of the car and stayed with 18-year-old Ryan Holland following a serious car accident.
The accident happened late Saturday on St. Charles Boulevard South near Antoine-Faucon in Pierrefonds, Que. on the Island of Montreal.
Phair’s 18-year-old son, Ryan, was driving home from a friends house at around 3 a.m., when he lost control of the vehicle, hit the median and slammed into a pole. The car flipped over and ended up on its side in the northbound, middle lane.
It’s unclear what caused the accident.
Phair said there were no drugs or alcohol in her son’s system but noted he may have been tired.
“Ryan doesn’t remember the accident but since there were no other cars involved, we can only assume that he fell asleep,” Phair said.
Kindness of strangers
Ryan was pinned in the car for about 90 minutes.
During that time, two strangers stayed by his side.
A young woman who heard the crash took a few pictures. She told Phair that a few men were at the scene, trying to help Ryan.
One of them had a baseball bat and was trying to smash open the window of the car.
“She said they were talking to him, reassuring him that help was coming and trying to keep him awake,” Phair said.
“At one point she said someone saw a flame and thought the car was going to catch fire.”
“Yet they stayed with my boy.”
“The car itself was on its side in a precarious position and they could themselves have been injured if it shifted … and yet they stayed.”
Ryan’s injuries
Ryan doesn’t remember much about the accident.
He was in and out of consciousness but vaguely remembers hearing people talk to him and said he took comfort that he was not alone.
He suffered serious injuries: a concussion, dislocated hip, fractured first rib and the biggest cause for concern, a severely lacerated spleen that was bleeding internally.
The laceration was millimeters from an artery. If it had been severed, he would have bled to death in the time it took to extricate him from the car.
Ryan has since been released from the Intensive Care Unit at Sacre-Coeur Hospital since the accident. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery but he will need extensive rehab.
Search for Samaritans
Phair would like to thank both the Good Samaritans who came to her son’s aid during his time of need.
“As a mother, it is horrifying for me to imagine my boy trapped in a car for almost 90 minutes,” Phair told Global News.
“Imagining how scared he must have been but taking great comfort in that complete strangers cared enough to stop to help in whatever way they could.”
“As a society we always tend to focus our attention on the evil that people do, but this incident has reminded me that there are a great many more good people out there as well that should be recognized.”
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