Victims Stories • Patricia Grimm
“... Apart from the physical injuries, and my partial disability, I may experience additional injuries as I age. . ”
I remember smelling something strange before thinking, “Oh, my God; the car is on fire.” Every inch of the car was destroyed; parts from underneath the hood were in the front seat with me. I’m trapped in this vehicle, legs crushed, and I thought, “I’ve got to get out of this car.” I managed to pop the seatbelt off; however, the door was sealed shut. I continued to push the door but it was completely crumpled. I took my right hand and banged on the window to try and break it. Men arrived at the window and I told them that I was trapped in the car “Get me out; it’s on fire. Get me out; it’s on fire.” I asked them to break the window. One of them went to his truck, got something and busted the window open. I told him, “You gotta get me out of this car.” I remember thinking. “I survived this. I’m not burning up in this car.” They pulled me out of the window, and two gentlemen placed me behind my car on the side of the road.
At this point I’m in a suit and had been wearing high heels. I remember laying on the side of the road, keeping my legs tightly together to stop the bleeding. I thought, “Where are my shoes?” So, my shoes were actually embedded into the floorboard of the car. I asked the men to “Get the helicopter; take me to the hospital.” I knew it was not good. I’m laying on the ground, looked across the road and saw the offender’s BMW in a ditch. I grew angry and yelled to him, “You could’ve killed me.” The lady who checked on me told me there was beer in the car and that he’d been drinking. While lying behind this car, I began cursing at his car, then someone came up to me and said, “He’s dead. He didn’t survive.” I remember seeing someone walk up to the window of his car and take a peek in before turning around to walk away.
A woman in her nightgown laid right in my face while on the side of the road. She was speaking to me. I said, “Just get me to the hospital. Get the helicopter.” The helicopter never came for some reason; however, the ambulance arrived. She was smart; she knew not to come too close to my car. I can’t even imagine what it was like for these first responders and witnesses. It was like being in a horror movie. I asked the first woman who approached my car to call my husband and held the phone toward me. My husband was working in Charlottesville—I’m like, “Honey, I’m OK; just go to the hospital.” I knew I didn’t want him to be scared. Afterwards, they placed me in the ambulance. Then the pain started, and I’m like, “Oh, no; here comes the pain.” I felt every twist of the ambulance as it made its way to the hospital, I glanced toward the paramedics and I asked, “Am I gonna die?”
They wouldn’t answer me…. I started to pray. I would just pray to God to not let me die today. As soon as the ambulance hit the bay, it was like television where the ambulance stopped and the doors opened. All I remember was that people were running as fast as they could while pulling a gurney to bring me to the trauma bay. I was completely conscious while telling them what happened and understood their responses. The trauma nurse practitioner—who I was already acquainted from a previous party function— said, “Oh, my God, I know who this woman is.” As I was laying there in my work suit I heard the practitioner's inquiring why I was there. I told the nurse, “I know what they’re saying. I know it’s not good; please tell them to be quiet.” I think they wanted to attempt to reset my right leg, or put my ankle back into socket placing me under to examine me.
“... I lost 70% use of my right leg and 30% of my left leg. I cannot walk, jump, hop, skip or do most activities I used to enjoy.”
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Annual Report • 2021
Mothers Against Drunk Driving ®
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