Woman bruised, not broken after crash: Says ‘angel’ EMT stayed with her until responders arrived

Firefighters work to free Rosemary McAlister at the scene of a two car accident on route 26 Monday afternoon. McAlister ended up bruised and battered but came away with no broken bones. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com)

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DIXON – After finding herself upside down with her head under the steering wheel and her feet flung over the top of her seat, Rosemary McAlister is certain of two things: a seat belt saved her life, and angels exist.

McAlister, 60, of Woosung, was northbound Monday afternoon on state Route 26 at the intersection of Timber Creek Road when a Ford pickup struck the passenger side of her Chrysler PT Cruiser.

The driver of the truck, Judith Dennis, 61, of Clinton, Iowa, was later cited for failure to yield.

The force of the impact sent McAllister’s car rolling more than 180 feet into a ditch where it  came to rest on its top, leaving her twisted, trapped and unable to free herself.

Sore, but otherwise not seriously hurt, she was back in her home Monday night.

“The doctor on duty said he was amazed that I came out without a single broken bone,” she said.

Now McAlister is hoping to find the man she calls her angel, a former emergency medical technician she knows only by the name Patrick, who literally reached out to calm her until responders arrived to pry her loose.

“I definitely want to thank him,” she said, “He was my lifeline.

“He laid on the ground and held my hand. He helped to calm me down. I was trying to struggle, and he says, ‘Please, honey, stay still. You have no idea how precarious this car is sitting right now. I don’t want it to roll over again.’ ... There are definitely angels here on Earth.”

McAllister’s head was wedged in such a way that she was unable to see his face, just his short blond hair.

Because the car rolled on its sides, the front bumper never hit the ground and, as a result, neither of her airbags deployed. It was the seat belt that kept her strapped in.

“I adamantly believe that if you get into a vehicle, whether a driver or a passenger, that seat belt goes on and gets clicked,” she said. “If it doesn’t click, the ignition doesn’t turn over.

“I know that’s what saved my life yesterday.”