Sometimes compassion begins on the roadside. And sometimes heroes live next door, in civilian clothes, and go unnoticed until called to action. So was the case on Sept. 22 this past year.
While driving her car north of Shawano, and just before crossing a bridge in the town of Wescott, Krystal Benoit lost control, swerved and crashed into the Wolf River. Her vehicle landed upside down, submerged in 5 feet of water with only one wheel sticking out.
Brave bystanders immediately sprang into action, and their synchronized teamwork saved Krystal’s life. Steve Grover, who saw the vehicle floating and dialed 911, along with Jerome Hoppe, who lived nearby, and Gary Effensberger, who also stopped to assist, wasted no time going into the water to free her from the car and provide aid.
Lifesaving aid is certainly what this team of three strangers provided! They pulled her lifeless body out of the vehicle, noting no pulse or signs of breathing. She was estimated to be under water approximately five to 10 minutes. Effensberger steadied a log near the river’s edge, while the other two men balanced her body on the log and performed CPR. When rescue crews arrived, Krystal remained unconscious but was spontaneously breathing and had a pulse. She was taken to Shawano hospital in critical condition and airlifted by ThedaStar to ThedaCare Neenah’s trauma center.
Krystal was admitted to the ICU and treated for aspiration pneumonia, along with therapeutic hypothermia for its protective effects on a brain that has been deprived of oxygen. In Krystal’s case, this was five to 10 minutes while being submerged and in full cardiac arrest.
Amazingly, within one week Krystal woke up with few neurological deficits. She has had recurrent episodes of pneumonia caused by aspiration of water in drowning.
She and longtime friend Rhonda are going forward one day at a time. They have a “debt of gratitude” to those Johnny-on-the-spot heroes who saved Krystal’s life, a debt they say they cannot repay. They will never forget the compassion bestowed upon them on a roadside one September day.
