On a field trip to Alaska in late May, a Grapevine nurse happened to be in the right place at the right time to save an infant’s life.
Around 6:30 p.m. on May 28, Alaska State Troopers (AST) began receiving calls about a plane crash in the Matanuska River in Glacier View, 100 miles northeast of Anchorage. The plane was ferrying two adults and a 7-month-old child.
Tammy Saunders, a nurse at Grapevine Faith Christian School, was off the grid with a group of others on a school field trip when the crash occurred. The group was finishing their zip line tour near the Matanuska River when Brett Winterbottom, their tour guide and an Alaskan resident, noticed a plane flying at an unusually low altitude before it disappeared behind the tree line.
Winterbottom asked whether anyone in the group had any medical experience. Saunders volunteered, relating that she had been a former trauma nurse in Dallas for more than 10 years. She was also a trained air transport EMT.
When Saunders and Winterbottom approached the crashed plane, they realized that it was “annihilated,” as Winterbottom described it. “It appeared to be folded in half, torn apart, and flipped upside down.” The plane was quickly sinking into the cold, rushing waters of the river.
Winterbottom tethered himself to an ATV and swam across the river towards the plane. After rescuing the baby and handing him over to Saunders, Winterbottom returned to the plane and rescued 27-year-old Logan Snyder. Meanwhile, Saunders began administering medical assistance to the infant.
Saunders told WFAA that the waters were frigid, and the baby needed to be given warmth immediately. The baby was later transported to a hospital for further treatment and observation.
The adult female occupant of the wrecked plane, 26-year-old Nichole Snyder, was able to swim to the shore and was transported to her family by helicopter.
The AST praised and gave thanks to everyone who offered assistance in the rescue, saving the lives of three people.
Saunders was just happy to be in the right place at the right time.
“It all just fell together into this crazy miraculous moment when everything lined up perfectly,” she said.