ALBERTA, CANADA – A Canadian paramedic treated her own 17-year-old daughter in a fatal car crash without knowing it was her.
Paramedic Who Responded To Fatal Crash Didn’t Realize Her Daughter Was The Victim Until The End Of Her Shift: Jayme Erickson of Alberta, Canada, has been working as a paramedic for more than 15 years. However, on November 15, she was called to a car… https://t.co/89QABjAlSc pic.twitter.com/0CcDHCfPfO
— Dr John Wayne Wilson (@johnwayne1) November 26, 2022
The teenage girl was so badly injured that she was left unrecognizable and it wasn’t until later that the paramedic learned it was her daughter who had died.
On November 15th, EMT Jayme Erickson spent over 20 minutes treating the girl who had been trapped in a car following a crash near Airdrie, just north of Calgary.
An air ambulance eventually arrived on scene, flying the critically wounded teenage girl to a nearby hospital to be treated for her injuries.
Within minutes of Erickson arriving home from the horrific car accident, she opened the door to Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who were the ones to deliver the horrible news. The patient Erickson was so desperately trying to save was her daughter, Montana.
On November 18th, in a Facebook post, the mother described the “indescribable” pain of her loss and the unimaginable circumstances. She wrote, in part:
“The critically injured patient I had just attended to, was my own flesh and blood. My only child. My mini-me. My daughter, Montana.”
Canada paramedic unknowingly treated daughter in fatal crash https://t.co/UdWD6CqG5P
— Ricardo Pinckney (@RicardoPinckney) November 26, 2022
The grieving parent said her family was “overwhelmed with grief and absolutely gutted.” Erickson wrote:
“Her injuries were so horrific I did not even recognize her. I was taken to FMC to see my baby girl and was informed her injuries were not compatible with life.”
She added:
“Although I am thankful for the 17 years I had with her, I am shattered and left wondering. What would you have become my baby girl? Who would you have been? I will never see you graduate and walk across the stage. I will never see you get married. I will never know who you would have been.”
The post continued:
“I love you more than anything in this world (yes, including the goats my girl!). I will cherish the memories we made and the time we had together. I am shattered. I am broken. I am missing a piece of me. I am left to pick up the pieces and expected to carry on.”
On Tuesday, November 22nd, paramedic and family spokesperson Richard Reed said that Montana and a friend were headed home after walking dogs at a nearby park when their car was struck by an oncoming truck. Reed said:
“Despite being a cold evening, Jayme stayed in the vehicle for over 20 minutes, ensuring the patient’s C-spine was stable and that her airway was clear. On her way back, she expressed the grief and frustration to her partner, knowing that tonight, a family would likely lose their daughter, sister and grandchild.”
Reed said:
“Jayme unknowingly was keeping her own daughter alive. As both a parent and a first responder, I can tell you, this is beyond a nightmare.”
When speaking to reporters, Reed said that the driver of the car was able to get out, but the female passenger was trapped with serious injuries. Erickson was the first person on scene and knew that the girl was in trouble, so she sat there until the girl was extricated and transported by air ambulance.
A Canada paramedic was giving care to a patient, who suffered injuries that made her unrecognizable.
The paramedic later found out it was her own daughter.https://t.co/S406tCtEUx
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) November 26, 2022
Erickson told reporters that her daughter’s death was especially hard hitting in the province’s first-responder community as her husband and Montana’s adopted father is also a paramedic. She added:
“Anybody who knew Montana, they’d call her a firecracker. She would love fiercely if you were her friend. She would love you to the end of the world and back, and she would do anything for you.”
The mother noted that in addition to being a loving and loyal friend, her daughter was a competitive swimmer and dreamed of one day becoming a lawyer. She added:
“She was a fighter and she fought until the day that she died and she was beautiful. She was so beautiful. If she ever put an effort into anything she would always succeed at it.”
Montana was an organ donor and was able to provide two life-saving donations. Erickson said:
“In the wake of this tragedy, she has saved other people. We know it’s what she would have wanted and we are so proud of her. And we’re going to miss her very, very much.”
