Surviving the ordeal

Phyllis Cook, resident of Ryan Park, contacted The Saratoga Sun to provide additional details of the accident that took place at Kum & Go on Monday, June 3, 2020. Phyllis and Bruce Cook were the ones who were referred to as "the elderly couple" in last week's article "Mettle amid the wreck".

Phyllis said that living through the event was like watching a movie, it didn't seem real. It took a few days before the shock wore off and they were able to process what they had experienced.

According to Phyllis, she was sitting in the passenger side of the red truck, that was pictured in the accident photos. Bruce had just lowered the tailgate, removed a couple of gas cans and walked around the side of the truck to pump. Seconds after which Phyllis said it felt like the whole truck was picked up and slammed to the ground.

Thinking the worst, Phyllis unbuckled the seatbelt that held her fast to the seat, not knowing she was covered with broken glass and ran around the side of the truck screaming for her husband.

Bruce was lying on the ground and wasn't moving. Phyllis' heart sank as she continued to call to Bruce as she raced toward him. It took several long seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Phyllis, for Bruce to come around and start moving. Bruce suffered a deep gash on his head.

Phyllis then said that she heard someone yelling to get away from the pumps. Bruce was in shock and did not comprehend what had just happened. He kept asking about the gas cans. The store clerk came over and helped guide him nearer to the store where paramedics checked him over.

Bruce was taken by ambulance to the hospital. An MRI revealed no further injuries. Due to COVID-19, Phyllis was not allowed to go inside the hospital with Bruce. A nurse, who also works at the Rendezvous Lodge in Ryan Park, kept coming out to give her updates which Phyllis said she appreciated very much. Bruce was discharged from the hospital after a couple hours of observation.

A few days later, Phyllis and Bruce surveyed the damage to their truck. They had not realized that the telephone pole had splintered, the largest part had landed on the canopy and a smaller chunk had nearly cut the cap on the back of the truck in half. It had also smashed out the back window. A chunk of the pole was still in the bed of the truck when they surveyed the damage.

Phyllis said that she feels very lucky that Bruce had walked around the side of the truck when he did. If he had been a few seconds slower, their story could have had a very different ending.

Phyllis went on to stress how nice everyone one was during a very difficult time. She also wishes to express her gratitude and send a big thank you to everyone who was there and helped out on that day.

The Saratoga Sun has contacted the Saratoga Police Department and the Wyoming Highway Patrol office in Rawlins. As of press time no one was available to provide any official updates regarding the cause of the accident or the condition of the driver.