United Ambulance paramedics tend to the injured driver of an overturned Jeep in the parking lot at Lewiston High School shortly after school let out Friday afternoon.
LEWISTON — A local man and five high school students lifted an overturned Jeep on Friday afternoon to free a teenager who was pinned in the wreckage.
According to witnesses, the Jeep flipped after colliding with a car in the school parking lot. Inside, Stefan Vallee, a senior at the school, was unable to get out.
Brandon Forgues, 20, said he was pulling his Hyundai sedan out of a parking lot when the Jeep struck the front of his car, dragging it several yards before the Jeep hit a large rock and overturned. Forgues was not seriously injured. He was one of the men to run to the rescue, joining a group of students who lifted the Jeep while another man scooped the teen out from beneath the vehicle.
Police were investigating the crash. Vallee was taken to a Lewiston hospital where he remained Friday night.
"I'm in one piece and perfectly fine," Vallee said Friday night. "All there is is a reconstructed nerve in my right arm and might not be able to feel my pinky for a year if ever."
However, Vallee said he felt lucky to have gotten out of the wreck without more serious injuries. His deceased grandmother may have played a role in the rescue along with the others, he said.
"I met my grandmother for the first time today," Vallee said. "She pulled me out of the wreck. Thank god for guardian angels. Everyone needs to appreciate life a lot more then they do now. It's a wonderful thing."
The crash occurred at about 2:10 p.m. as classes were letting out. One woman said she got to the school to pick up her daughter as the group was pulling the victim free of the wreckage. Her daughter, who received her driving permit just the day before, did not know the victim, she said.
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Lucky
He is very lucky all he had was a little nerve damage to his pinky. Those jeep tops are like cardboard and had he flipped on the rock, it no doubt would have crushed the roof and left him with massive head trauma if even an intact head. Initially, the article, before edits, said he was speeding. I wasn't there so I don't know the story however remembering highschool 3-4 years ago, students would speed out of the parking lot, maybe trying to impress or look cool, I don't know, but they would put those who were driving through or walking in great danger. I hope people learn from this even in a parking lot that serious accidents can occur and to be safe. There's no need to go more than 10mph in one.
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We're all thankful that Stephan wasn't more seriously injured. There were lots of witnesses...
If one positive thing comes from this: many students and new drivers were able to see just how serious even a slow-speed accident can be. Stephan was traveling under 20MPH, and you can see the damage to the vehicle, and some to Stephan in the video.
As a parent, this is EXACTLY what I fear whenever my children get behind the wheel, and I hope my kids as well as all the other witnesses there will file this away and remember to be aware while they're out on the roads.
Best wishes, Stephan, and a quick recovery.
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