TMI Employees Rescue Child From Flipped Car in Denver, CO

TMITraffic Controllers get a toddler out of a flipped car as the mother waits for jaws of life.

Two traffic controllers from Traffic Management, Inc. (TMI®) leapt into action to save a mother and her toddler from the wreckage of a car accident they witnessed while on the way back from a job site last week.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how our Teammates reacted, TMI Regional Manager Rick Etzler said. “They saw a dangerous situation, immediately took charge and helped. These employees are quality people and help create the Culture at TMI. They both display that being ‘Serious About Safety’ is a personal belief.”

Usually based out of TMI’s Greeley, CO branch, Traffic Controllers Rhonda Lucas and Justin Bottoms were returning to the Denver branch after a special project when they heard a car crash. Rhonda and Justin looked over to see a van had struck another vehicle causing the van to rollover, trapping a mother and her toddler inside.

Rhonda instinctively got out of the work truck and began trying to open the doors of the rolled over vehicle to assist the occupants, while Justin called 911. Unable to open any of the doors, Rhonda could see that the mother and child were both in distress and bleeding.

“I was following Rhonda’s lead,” Justin said. “After I saw how quickly she reacted to the situation, I just wanted to do anything I could to assist. She reacted like a Superhero.”

Rhonda tried the rear hatch of the van, which opened. She shouted out to the occupants and instructed the toddler to crawl to the back of the van to her. With the child safe in her arms, Rhonda continued to calm her while other bystanders unsuccessfully tried to get the mother out of the van. First responders arrived at the scene and were able to remove the child’s mother using jaws of life. Both Mom and daughter were taken away by ambulance for further assessment.

“There wasn’t much thought, I was just reacting to what I saw,” Rhonda said. “Several of us saw the crash and got out to help. Once I saw the baby was trapped in the car, I knew I had to do anything necessary to help get her out of the car. We didn’t know if the cars were going to catch on fire or what was going to happen. I just did what I thought anyone should do, help people in trouble.”

TMI is Serious About Safety in everything we do. TMI awarded Rhonda and Justin the TMI Hero Award in recognition of their quick thinking and service to the community.