Photo contributed by Andy Frost
Kristen Oxley
Reporter
January 20, 2006
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Rachael Vines' 1996 Dodge Neon Photo contributed by Andy Frost |
Three Milligan students were injured, one seriously, in a Friday-night car crash while returning to Milligan College from Elizabethton.
Senior Rachel Eng and juniors Christi Bothwell and Rachael Vines sustained varying degrees of injury after Vines’ car, a 1996 Dodge Neon, was struck by a car driven by Lauren Weems, 30, of Gray.
Eng suffered a fractured right collarbone, seatbelt burns and bruises on her abdomen. Doctors also found fluid in her pelvic area, which may indicate internal bleeding. She was transported by ambulance to Johnson City Medical Center where she stayed the night.
Bothwell came away with a sprained ankle, and Vines suffered a bloody nose from the airbag and a bruised knee from striking the keys during the crash.
No information about Weems’ condition was available.
The students said they were coming back to Milligan after a routine trip to Wal-Mart in Elizabethton when the accident happened around 7 p.m.
Vines said she was driving on U.S. 321 near its intersection with Milligan Highway when Weems apparently turned left into the path of the Neon.
Weems was cited for failure to yield, according to the Elizabethton Police Department.
“I had the breath knocked out of me,” said Eng, who was sitting in the backseat on the passenger’s side. The impact was so great that the backseat dislodged and crushed Eng against the seatbelt.
Eng and Bothwell were easily pulled from the car, but Vines’ door would not open. Rescue workers placed a tarp over Vines and used the Jaws of Life to take off the door and get her out.
Bothwell, who was sitting in the front passenger’s seat, was transported to Johnson City Medical Center in the same ambulance as Eng.
“I’m glad we’re OK,” Vines said. All three women were wearing seatbelts.
“I’m just so grateful to be alive, knowing that it could have been a lot worse,” Eng said.
All three students were back in class on Monday.
Damage to each car exceeded $400, according to the police.