On Thursday, July 22, 2021, the life of a local mother and her family drastically changed in one moment.

It began as a normal day taking her son to work and their four year old decided to tag along. As Natosha Merz was headed to Nederland just past Rollinsville at Old Stage Road, she saw a car jerk directly head-on into her lane. She had just enough time to turn the wheel with all that she had to the right, as fast as she could. She was later told it was the only thing that saved all their lives, including the driver of the other vehicle.

Merz thanks God her children walked away with only bumps and bruises, physically. She says the night terrors are still ongoing for their four year old. She worries she can never erase what their 15 year old saw that day from his memory. When she asks him if he is okay he responds, “physically”.

When the accident happened immediately people jumped into action. One firefighter, who happened to be driving by, jumped in the car with Merz. He kept her calm, helped keep her from going into shock, and walked her through each process. Over a dozen first responders were on scene to assist with the accident, stop traffic, help the helicopter land and more.

Merz remembers, “After making sure my kids were okay and away from the car. I instantly knew I was in trouble. My right arm was woven through the steering wheel, my left wrist was outside the car with my bones exposed. The dashboard was wrapped around my legs. My right foot was stuck under the gas pedal. I couldn’t move. I remember feeling like my feet were going to explode. My son called my husband who got there so quickly he beat EMS.

“It took the jaws of life 45 minutes to cut me loose and I was medevaced to the nearest trauma hospital. I didn’t know at the time but my life was in great danger. My left leg was broken at the shin, knee cap, my femur in three places, and a broken bone just under the hip. My right foot bones broke on the top and the left of my foot. My ankle was completely shattered. My forehead had a layer open exposing my scalp (later taking 15 stitches to close). My right upper arm had a compound fracture as well as my left wrist. Seven surgeries later, I now have hardware, plates, screws and rods in all four limbs. I couldn’t walk for at least three months and my right wrist was completely paralysed.”

Merz added, “My family and I have a long road ahead of us with a lot of PT and OT. I spent 21 days in the hospital and missed my husband and babies more than you will ever know. With the yucky part out of the way, I want to get to the only good part of this story. Our community not only jumped in immediately to help me and my family out but everyone also jumped in while I was at the hospital. A local friend started a food train and for almost a full month my family had dinner brought to them every night. I had countless flowers and cards sent to the hospital and the people that showed up to help clean my home or be there to help with kids is unbelievable.

“I’m not gonna lie, it has been very hard not to be bitter at the other driver, knowing they almost killed my children. However, the way our community was there for me reminded me that there are good people all around us and I am blessed to be part of this amazing place.

“Thank you to everyone, I love you all. If you dropped off a meal, or helped in some way, there is a thank you card at Brightwood for you. Too many to name individually, that helped out so much. Thank you to the firefighters and EMT who saved my life. You guys are my forever HEROS...We love you all.”

Neighbors and friends continue to step in to offer assistance. If you’re interested in helping, please email publisher1977@gmail.com for additional information. At this time, there are donation buckets at the B&F Mountain Market, if you’d like to help this local family get back on their feet. It will be a long road to recovery, but they’re taking it one step at a time.

Sheriff Armstrong reminds us, “Driving is a huge responsibility that requires all your attention. Distracted Driving (texting, eating, changing the radio station, putting on make-up, talking to passengers etc.) causes about 80% of all accidents nationwide. Texting while driving takes your attention off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. If you are going 50 mph, you are traveling about 73.3 feet per second. This is 337.2 feet you have traveled in that 4.6 seconds you were texting. There is a lot that can happen as you are driving this 337.2 feet. Please pay attention, it could be your life you save.”

Chief Ondr, Timberline Fire, replied, “The Timberline family is so happy that Tosha is recovering and doing well. This was a challenging extrication for many reasons, but your Firefighters spend many hours a year training and preparing for this type of accident. Timberline recently purchased state of the art extrication equipment to help reduce extrication times. As stated by Sheriff Armstrong keep your eye on the road and don’t drive distracted.”

“Tosha, thank you for the kind words and please don’t hesitate to call us if you need help. We are here for the community in any way we can help.”

Merz reminds us, “P.S., DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE. PLEASE.”