'They'll need our prayers'

Seniors Norka Acosta and Jami Bennett were driving back from working on a group project when they drove by the accident. They immediately stopped, got out their first aid kit and assisted in helping the victims.\nBennett vividly recalls the moment she made the decision to act.\n"I saw the cars on my left. Because of all the traffic, I was getting ready to try to bypass (the cars)," Bennett said. "Then I noticed there was an accident and I realized there was no one on the scene. I approached the vehicle … I got there at the same time as the first officer got on the scene. I asked if I could help and he said 'yes.' So I jumped out and immediately grabbed my emergency kit and everything like that since I am a Certified Professional Rescuer.\nNorka checked (one female victim's) pulse while I was opening up her airway. I tried giving her two breaths … I basically just helped as far as the rescue breathing goes."\nThe two girls worked together to do what they could for the injured girl. Bennett had a softball-sized patch of blood on her right knee when they attended to her.\n"Jamie Bennett and I are both certified as American Red Cross instructors so we just felt it was our duty to come out here and help," Acosta said.\nOf the condition of the victims, Acosta simply said, "Let's just say at this point they'll need our prayers."\nSenior Adam Peeples also responded to the crash when he heard the impact from 200 feet away. Peeples approached one of the victims and began to lift debris off of her.\n"I went to the scene of the accident and one of the passengers of the red jeep was already on the ground and another one was inside the vehicle," Peeples said. "The girl on the ground had a couple of objects on top of her. I couldn't tell how she was doing, but she looked like she was in the most severe condition out of all of them.\n(The objects were) small things - like a piece of the door was partially on her. The electrical box was leaning on her leg."\nNo more than a half hour after the accident had taken place, several members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and the community had surrounded the accident scene. Some cried uncontrollably, while others attempted to console them.\nSome bystanders simply seemed shocked into silence.