{"id":15667,"date":"2018-04-26T12:24:23","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T17:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/?p=15667"},"modified":"2018-04-26T12:24:23","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T17:24:23","slug":"20-years-later-survivors-of-taliaferro-ga-van-crash-get-to-thank-first-responders-for-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/?p=15667","title":{"rendered":"20 Years later: Survivors of Taliaferro, GA van crash get to thank first responders for service"},"content":{"rendered":"

(WRDW<\/a>) \u2013\u00a0\u00a0More than 20 years after a deadly bus crash in Taliaferro County, survivors were able to meet the first responders who jumped into action to save their lives. The crash happened on Interstate 20 in 1997 involving the cheerleading team from the University of West Georgia.<\/p>\n

Every passenger was ejected on the bus, killing three people and injuring 13 others in the crash. It was an emotional time for the survivors of that crash, but they say they wanted a chance to show all first responders their gratitude.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a day Chris Autrey, Kim Test and Hilary Helton will never forget: August 10, 1997. A day when the van carrying their group of West Georgia College cheerleaders crashed on I-20.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were crossing over Lake Oconee and a couple minutes later, that\u2019s when the accident happened. It was a scene that you see in movies from what I remember,\u201d Autrey says. \u201cIt\u2019s a scene that I don\u2019t want to see again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day saw Wilkes, Taliaferro, Warren, and McDuffie County emergency officials all respond to the call. While their lives changed that day forever, several survivors are now saying thanks to the first responders who helped save them.<\/p>\n

Autrey says meeting them more than twenty years later is bittersweet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time I had even heard their names or anything was in the back of the ambulance and I actually got to meet the paramedic who rode in the back of the ambulance with me,\u201d Autrey says. \u201cAfter an event like that, not a lot of people get to say thanks to the people who saved your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

First responders like Major Connie Waldhour with Gold Cross EMS are thankful for the recognition. She\u2019s seen her rough days, most recently during Masters Week when a tour bus crashed on I-20 in Columbia County.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was bad,\u201d Major Waldhour says. \u201cWe had six patients that were still inside the bus and we weren\u2019t able to initially able to get contact to them to see how bad they were. We had to wait on fire to get us access inside the bus so we could see just how bad our patients were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeing a wreck like this and helping those in need can take a toll, but she says it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an adrenaline rush that you just can\u2019t describe,\u201d Major Waldhour says. \u201cYou also get a little uneasy because you don\u2019t know exactly what you\u2019re facing. But it\u2019s a tremendous feeling to know that you were involved and you helped save somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n