What was supposed to be a long weekend of relaxation and fun turned into a nightmare for an Edmonton family who was camping outside of Drayton Valley for the Victoria Day long weekend.
Emily Olson, 10, begged her mom, Kimberly Olson, to take her out on the family’s new ATV after dinner on Saturday night. The pair was wearing helmets and travelled slowly down a trail they had never been on before.
While going up a hill, Kimberly believes she hit a bank and instead of hitting the brakes, accelerated. The vehicle tipped and Kimberly put her leg down to stop it.
“I told Emily to bail,” Kimberly told Global News about the moments leading up to when the 600-pound machine ended up on top of her chest.
“I couldn’t lift it. Emily couldn’t lift it,” she said. “I almost stopped breathing.”
Emily tried several times to move it but was unsuccessful. The pair screamed for help but no one could hear them.
“I was scared thinking that she was going to die because I didn’t think I was strong enough to lift it up,” Emily said. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh she’s in trouble.'”
That’s when Kimberly said she prepared for the worst. As she started to run out of air, she held her daughter’s hand and said her goodbyes.
“(I) felt really bad that that was going to be the last memory that she could have,” she said.
That’s when Emily said she knew she needed to try a different approach.
“When I saw her lips turn blue I turned around,” she said, showing how she used a bar on the ATV and her legs to push the quad up the hill. “I’m so thankful I got it up.”
Kimberly said she was able to wiggle out from underneath the vehicle. Emily ran back to the family’s campsite for help.
LISTEN BELOW: Emily and Kimberly Olson talk to 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen about their long weekend ordeal
Emergency crews arrived and carried the woman out of the forested area before taking her to the University of Alberta Hospital. She underwent surgery for a broken femur. Kimberly also broke eight ribs and has a cracked sternum.
It will be a long road to recovery, but she’s thankful that she’s here to tell her story and credits that fully to her daughter.
“She’s my little angel, she’s my superstar. If she wasn’t there I wouldn’t be here, that’s for sure.”
The family wants others to use the story as a reminder that when you head out in the backcountry, never go alone and let people know where you are going in case you get into trouble.