“A (Bill) blessing in disguise”

To the editor: On Monday, Nov. 13, shortly before 1 p.m., a horrific accident took place at Woodport Road and Winona Parkway. Anyone arriving after the accident would wonder how the occupant of the vehicle that was struck survived. The car was the second behind me, entering the intersection. From my right, I caught the sight and sound of an apparently brake-less truck bearing down towards the intersection. I knew a bad accident was about to occur and there was nothing I could do. The pickup truck in front of me was driven by Bill Blessing. Many of you may know him as a lifelong resident of Sparta , through Blessing’s Auto Service or as volunteer fireman on Rescue 4. Little did he know he was seconds away from being someone’s “Blessing” or angel. As I witnessed the SUV struck broadside by the tractor trailer and pushed down the street, we were turning around in the Gulf station to assist. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran toward the now over-tuned truck and Bill ran toward the car, resting in a parking lot. I believe the actions taken by Bill were critical in saving the occupant and he should be commended. Bill pulled away the deployed air bags to find the injured driver was an acquaintance. He looked her over for signs of injuries, but miraculously, there were none. He made certain the driver did not move and began to calmly and continuously reassure her that more help was on the way and that she would be okay. It must have been reassuring to her that a friend was helping. From the time of impact until police, fire and ambulance were on the scene, five to seven minutes passed. It was during those critical minutes that Bill’s actions prevented the woman from going into shock and probably saved her life. We tip our hats to Bill, I was impressed by the emergency service response and the number of volunteer fire/rescue and ambulance people that serve our community. Lance M. Morrow