As a graduate student, I didn’t have the finances or time to go on vacations, but we did have some liberty with our daily schedule. Three early mornings a week, I would go play basketball at the local stake center in Provo. The other two were for temple attendance. Our breakfasts were a little late, but still early enough to get our oldest son, Jacob, off to kindergarten and first grade.
I enjoyed making pancakes for my family. On the morning in question, I’m not certain why the pancakes were so late, but Jacob had to leave for school before I had finished frying the batch and feeding his younger brothers.
Julie saw Jacob to the door with his backpack. Maeser Elementary School was three short Provo blocks away. Typically, crowds of children flowed from the houses of the neighborhood in the mornings making their way to the 100-year-old building. The children had already gone to school and apparently the crossing guard had completed her duties for the morning. Jacob was late for school.
I was finishing the batch. The phone rang. “Your son, Jacob, was just hit by a truck.” Julie and I decided to send me to the school to handle the situation while she would organize the rest of the children.
I arrived at the last crosswalk before the school just as the ambulance arrived, as well. I remember a crowd surrounding Jacob, and Jacob looking so small and crumpled on the ground. As is usual in such cases, they had been hesitant to move him as a precaution in the case of any neck or back injury. So he was pretty much as he landed.
As I entered the circle, the principle of the school, Mr. Kim Langton, stood up and put his arm around me, told me that he and the school janitor, Paul (we think that is his name), had given Jacob a blessing. How grateful I am for the unique situation - that we lived in a community where the school principal and the school janitor hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, are worthy to exercise it, and had the confidence that we would welcome such an intervention.
I think also of their concern. Here was one of “their” kids, their student, who was struck by a truck. I’m sure they loved the children and took their responsibilities to watch over these children seriously and wanted to do everything in their power to help a child involved in a serious accident.
The accident was serious. The driver of the small pickup had been traveling south on 4th East and turned left onto 2ned South directly into the sun. The glare of the sun made it so the driver did not see Jacob in the crosswalk or even slow down until she had hit him. The space between the truck’s headlights struck Jacob. He was carried until the truck stopped. Jacob was carried twenty or thirty feet until he landed nearly a third of the way down the block. Pieces of the truck’s grill lay scattered on the street.
I knelt beside Jacob and prayed in my heart. I remember the sense of loss and sorrow and also the feeling of acceptance of God’s will. The paramedics lifted Jacob carefully onto a small stretcher, removing his backpack. Someone volunteered to get it to our home. The paramedics invited me to ride in the ambulance with Jacob. I sent word to my wife to meet me at the hospital.
The ride to the hospital went quickly, it was about 2 miles away. The paramedics wheeled Jacob into a closed room off the ICU rather than in one of the regular screened-off alcoves. The Emergency Room attendants pulled me aside to collect needed-information , then let me go back in the room.
Julie’s sister, Karen, had been working at Maeser Elementary School when she heard that Jacob had been injured. So Karen came to the house and volunteered to watch the other children in order for Julie to come to the hospital. So Julie joined me quickly.
The nurse explained to us that there could be blood, and we may have to be escorted out, but if we could stay, indeed it would help if Jacob regained consciousness or if a decision needed to be made.
Both Julie and I were strengthened by the Spirit. We were calm and very accepting of all that was going on. Many of the nurses and doctors remarked how well we were handling it. As usual, I was curious about everything that was going on and hypothesizing why various things were taking place.
Jacob looked small on the bed. He had various abrasions. Of particular concern were the head injuries. The doctors focused on leakage from the ear, trying to determine the nature of the fluid.
Amazingly, Jacob checked out with minimal injuries…bruised, abraided, but whole. After x-rays, it was determined that Jacob might have a hairline skull fracture. For a child who just got hit by a truck, he was a miracle.
While we were in that examination room, friends and family gathered in the waiting room. Our Bishop, Doneal White, came. Our former bishop and at that time- member of the stake presidency, Stewart Hughes, had turned back from a trip to Salt Lake City to be there. Robert Timmons came. He actually got a bit light-headed while he was in the examination room. Stephen would leave the room periodically to give status and accept the loving support that these great individuals were sharing with us.
Why wasn’t Jacob injured more? When a six-year-old child is hit by a truck, it is usually not good for the child. Especially when the child is struck and carried for the distance that Jacob was. I suppose his backpack played a role. It wasn’t filled with books, but instead with a lunch…and love. It cushioned him as he was hit and as he was thrown.
More importantly, the truck that was involved in the accident had struck a deer the week before. The grillwork was still in place, but fractured and loosened. When Jacob was struck, the grill fractured and failed. Instead of bouncing off, Jacob was caught by the grill, the energy of the impact absorbed by the grill as it failed. Pieces of the grill lay scattered over the street where the truck stopped. Then as the truck slowed and stopped, he was released at a much lower velocity than if he had been struck and thrown cleanly. Thus, the impact with the roadway was minimized, as well.
I consider it a miracle. First, that it happened such a way as to minimize injuries to Jacob. Second, that two individuals, the school principal and janitor were there to give a blessing. Third, that family and friends were there, even before we called, ready to help us and let us attend to our son. Finally, that all the support and skill was there in a timely fashiion to heal and monitor him.
To complete the story, Jacob didn’t and doesn’t remember much about the accident. We have a video that Richard made while Jacob was in the hospital. In the video, Jacob is clearly out of it, still woozy, his features were swollen and round. Still bandaged, Jacob’s words were slurred, he had difficulty paying attention. His room was filled with gifts and well-wishes.
We were required tog o to court in order to close out any possible settlement. All of the hospital bills were going to be paid for, and originally I had been content just to have those expenses covered. However, when the insurance agents started contacting us and offering settlements, I realized that we needed to think of more than the moment. Finally, we agreed on an amount to cover any future concerns and that would release the insurance company from any future indemnities. This had to be reviewed by a judge to insure that we were taking the best interests of Jacob into consideration. He approved, though I felt nervous as though I hadn’t thought through it carefully enough.
The trust we set up had provided sufficient for Jacob to get through two years of BYU upon returning from his mission. Not luxurious, but adequate.
And pancakes nearly always remind me of a phone call and a miracle.
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