BY MATT HERSH
Ryan Woodbury couldn’t stop screaming as he watched his younger brother’s SUV swerve and then roll over five times on Route 38.
“It all happened so fast,” he said. “I just kept yelling his name and then I got out of my car.”
Ryan, 21, had been traveling back from Pelham when he saw his younger brother Kevin, 19, driving in the opposite direction in his Toyota 4Runner with its KWOO vanity license plate on Thursday, Aug. 2.
In a matter of seconds, he saw Kevin drift near the curb, swerve slightly, and then flip over, throwing him out of the driver’s side window. Ryan instantly sprang into action.
After pulling his car over, he ran toward the Toyota, which was upside down with its hood crushed and windows shattered. Pieces of metal and glass were strewn across the street. Kevin wasn’t in the car.
Ryan kept screaming his brother’s name while frantically looking for him. An off-duty firefighter who stopped to help located Kevin on the side of the road near some vegetation and shouted to Ryan.
Ryan ran over to his brother, who was lying on his side in a patch of poison ivy. He was unresponsive, making gurgling noises and had blood coming from his ears and head.
“I held his hand and told him I was there for him, but I don’t know if he could hear me,” said Ryan, who thought his brother might not survive.
But after he was taken by helicopter to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, doctors found that Kevin had managed to avoid any fatal injuries.
He was placed on life support while the doctors surveyed his injuries. Meanwhile, his family, including father, Bob, and brother Rob, stayed by his side, praying for his life.
Kevin suffered a fractured clavicle, fractured ribs, eardrum damage and some head trauma. He may have some hearing loss in one ear and he will have to wear a neck brace for several weeks. Doctors placed a titanium plate in his shoulder to repair his clavicle.
Police officials later told Kevin’s family that if he had been wearing a seat belt, he would likely have been decapitated by the impact. The fact that he was not wearing a seat belt and that his window was open saved his life, according to his mother, Cindi Woodbury.
“We’re just amazed that he lived through this,” said Cindi, who received a call at work from Ryan shortly after the accident, telling her to come home immediately. “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare.”
Kevin is back at the family’s Lancaster Farm Road home making a slow but steady recovery. He requires round-the-clock care and he has been seeing several doctors for his injuries. He said he wasn’t feeling up to making any comments about the accident.
He is scheduled to start attending college soon, but those plans will have to be put on hold until he recovers, Cindi said.
Ryan has been called a hero by his family and friends who applauded his quick thinking. After the accident, Ryan not only ran to Kevin’s aid, but he also took a lead role in working with the police and insurance companies.
“Everyone else has called me a hero, but I think everyone would have done the same as I did,” he said.
Cindi said she’s traumatized by the experience, but she’s thankful her son is alive. Over the past few days, the family has been surrounded by friends, relatives, and community members who are constantly checking on Kevin.
Ryan said he’s amazed at the circumstances of the accident. That he happened to be traveling in the opposite direction only five minutes away from his house when he witnessed the wreck is amazing, he said.
“There are so many things that could have changed the (whole situation),” he said.
Kevin is in good spirits and he has given several emotional thank yous to his brother. Now, he and his family are taking things one day at a time, Cindi said.
“No one can explain why he’s still here,” she said. “Things like this just teach you that every day is a gift.”