UPDATE: The ‘Alberta angels’ were found in B.C. the less than 24 hours after we shared this story. Read about the Hamilton’s reactions here.
EDMONTON — A Florida couple seriously injured in a highway collision in Wyoming this summer is searching for the “Alberta angels” they credit with helping save their lives.
“They were just instrumental in just helping to take care of us and do so much for us,” said Jeff Hamilton.
At around noon on Aug. 2, Jeff and his wife, Jeri Hamilton, were on their motorcycle heading to Yellowstone National Park. They were travelling west on Highway 120, near Thermopolis, WY, when the back tire of their Harley Davidson blew out.
“Next thing I know, the bike just starts swerving wildly, the back tire had blown and my wife was holding onto my vest and the last thing I remember, she told me, she says, ‘We’re going to make it,'” Jeff said over the phone from Tallahassee, Fla. Saturday afternoon.
Unable to gain control of the bike, Jeri was thrown off the back; Jeff carried on, straight over the handlebars.
“The bike came over with me and slammed me into the ground and I went face first across the road,” Jeff, 58, added.
Jeff said the moments following the crash were blurry, he was in and out of consciousness, but when he came to he could hear his wife screaming his name. Then a stranger appeared overtop of him. Jeri said someone also came to her aid.
“They came up and the first thing they said was, ‘Oh my God, you’re alive.’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ And they said, ‘We thought, we just knew, we thought you were going to be dead.,'” Jeri, 57, said.
The couple coming to the rescue had already called 911 and help was on the way. The Good Samaritans made sure the Hamiltons were safely off the highway and began collecting their belongings, which were strewn all over the highway.
When the ambulance arrived, Jeff and Jeri were loaded in with their belongings and taken to hospital in Casper, WY. Jeff suffered extensive internal injuries, eight broken ribs, a broken clavicle and a crushed shoulder. While Jeri’s injuries were less extensive, she said every bone in one of her arms broke.
The Hamiltons received treatment at the hospital and a short time later the nurse told them they had visitors. Not knowing anyone in the state, Jeff and Jeri said they were shocked to see the couple who stopped to help took time out of their day to come make sure they were okay.
“It was unbelievable,” Jeri said. “They said they wanted to make sure we were okay… I feel so bad I didn’t even get their name, first name or anything.”
“They did so much and I mean, that meant a whole lot,” Jeff added.
“They could have easily driven by and just not helped at all.”
Other motorists did stop to help, but the Hamiltons said they wouldn’t have survived without the help of this couple. And while they did have a bit of time to chat, Jeri said she was mostly in shock and didn’t feel she and her husband were able to properly thank the man and woman, who they refer to as their “Alberta angels.”
“These people were so special and they were the first ones there and told us what happened and then coming back to the hospital to see us was just above and beyond,” Jeri said.
“I did look at them and talk to them but I can’t even tell you what they look like. It’s the strangest thing.”
“It’s a simple thing just to say, ‘Thank you’ but to let somebody know that what they did didn’t go unnoticed. Because, I mean come on, they turned around and drove back 20 miles just to check on us,” Jeff added.
The Hamiltons said their daughter has since talked to police dispatch who told them the couple was from Alberta, but that’s the only thing they know. Jeri said she thinks they were maybe in their 50s.
Anyone who has any information on the mystery couple is asked to contact the Hamilton family through their Facebook page.
The Hamiltons were in hospital in Wyoming for three weeks. Jeff and Jeri, who both work to repair and restore antique clocks, are healing from their injuries but said they were told by doctors it may take up to a year to start feeling like themselves again.
Comments