Alive by a miracle
Published: June 26, 2005
Kenneth and Ruby Greene recently celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary but the couple is well aware it was a celebration that came close to never happening.
On their way home from work in September, they stopped to turn left onto their street off U.S. Highway 287 South just outside of Palestine. As they waited for oncoming traffic to pass, they were hit from behind then thrust into the approaching traffic and struck by another vehicle.
Mrs. Greene, now 62, was in the passenger’s seat, on the side that bore the full brunt of the crash. She and her husband, who was also injured, were taken by helicopter to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler.
Greene, now 65, had a ruptured spleen as well as cuts and bruises but he was able to go home after six days in the hospital. His wife suffered a long list of injuries in the accident, and was hospitalized for nearly four months.
“It’s a miracle I’m alive,” she said. “It really is.”
Less than a year later, after overcoming medical obstacles and with staggering financial challenges still ahead, the couple is pleased to hear that something will be done about the dangerous intersection and stretch of highway that have long been a source of worry for residents in that area.
The Texas Department of Transportation plans to construct a center turn lane in a 1.6-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 287 South that includes the intersection of County Road 147, where the Greenes live.
“It will save lives,” Greene said. “There’s no doubt in my mind.”
‘TREACHEROUS’
The Greenes, who have lived in their house on County Road 147 for more than 30 years, knew the dangers of that intersection well before their accident.
“You sit with your eyes on the rear-view mirror, (thinking) ‘I hope they go around, I hope they go around,’” Mrs. Greene said.
Mrs. Greene, who described the area as “treacherous,” had feared for the safety of people coming and going from a nearby day care center.
“It’s always terrified me that somebody’s going to get killed there - or little kids killed,” she said.
Her fears were confirmed on May 2, 2003.
A little more than a year before the Greens’ accident, a 91-year-old woman was on U.S. 287 trying to turn left onto County Road 147, where she also lived.
A vehicle struck her from behind, sending her car into oncoming traffic and into the path of a truck towing a semi-trailer, which struck the right side of her vehicle, according to a report from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Oralee Taylor Bridges died as a result of the accident.
After Ms. Bridges’ accident, the Greenes said they wrote letters and made phone calls to elected officials about the dangerous intersection. Anderson County Judge Carey McKinney said he and County Commissioner Joe Chaffin wrote letters to the Texas Department of Transportation.
A traffic study was conducted of that area and as a result, TxDOT reduced the speed limit and put up signs, McKinney said.
When the Greenes’ accident occurred, he said the situation gained urgency.
At about 1 p.m. Sept. 23, 2004, the Greenes - just seconds from their home - found themselves at the deadly intersection once again wondering what the drivers behind them would do.
“We were sitting in that lane, vulnerable, waiting to turn,” Mrs. Greene said. “You’d think being in front of your house you’d be safe, but it doesn’t necessarily work out that way.”
Mrs. Greene does not remember the impact of the accident, how she was trapped inside the vehicle as emergency workers tried to extract her or how she was flown to a Tyler hospital where she would remain in an unconscious state, sometimes drug-induced, for about three months.
Months later, though, she can list the extent of her injuries in detail.
“My pelvis was so crushed they said I would never walk again,” Mrs. Greene said. She said she also had injuries to her lungs, pancreas, liver and kidneys as well as a broken wrist, collarbone, shoulder blade, ribs and a ruptured spleen.
These days, the Greenes say they no longer turn left at that intersection, unless it is completely clear. They will continue down the road and turn around.
“It’s not two minutes’ difference and it might mean the difference between life and death,” Mrs. Greene said.
ACTION
An announcement came a little more than a week ago, however, that could help make that stretch of highway a little safer.
Earlier this month, Vernon Webb, TxDOT area engineer for Anderson and Henderson counties, sent a letter to McKinney explaining that the department’s Tyler District received $334,300 of safety bond funding to install a left-turn lane at the intersection of U.S. 287 South and County Road 147.
But there was more.
“Thanks to the continued support from your office as well as (state) Senator (Todd) Staples’ office, I am pleased to inform you that the Tyler District has dedicated an additional $1.3 million to construct a continuous left-turn lane from the existing five-lane section south to the FM 2419 intersection,” Webb wrote in the letter.
Officials said the $334,300 of safety bond funding was part of a sum total of $116 million bond that the Tyler District received for such projects.
The $1.3 million comes from the district’s discretionary funds.
The funding will make it possible for there to be a two-way turn lane that stretches from Loop 256 in Palestine to Farm-to-Market Road 2419.
“I certainly would hope that it would eliminate the left-turning accidents we’re having,” Webb said. “It’s not just going to completely reduce accidents out there, but I certainly think it will reduce the higher-speed rear-ending accidents we’ve seen in the past …”
Plans are for the highway to be widened 7 feet on each side to make room for the 14-foot center turn lane. Although an official schedule has not yet been determined, Webb estimated the project could take about a year, give or take a few months, to complete.
Officials expect to go out for bids on the project in November.
McKinney, Anderson County Precinct 1 Commissioner Joe Chaffin and Webb were on hand to make an announcement about the project in the Greenes’ neighborhood a little more than a week ago.
McKinney called the family the night before to let them know about the development. Mrs. Greene said when she heard the news, she was ecstatic.
“We’re delighted. I’ve talked to people all up and down the highway, on these side roads, and they’re ecstatic,” Mrs. Greene said. “It’s been something the people out here have been wanting for years.”
AFTERMATH
Less than a year after their accident, the Greenes, who had no health insurance when they had their accident, are facing hospital bills that total more than $2 million.
Mrs. Greene, who has undergone about 10 surgeries already, is still facing at least one more. Despite her desire to return to her small janitorial services business, she is not yet able.
“It’s just changed our whole lives,” her husband said of the accident.
Despite their struggles, the Greenes seem to be in great spirits, laughing and joking and enjoying their large family.
They point to their faith in God as the source of their strength. Since returning home, Mrs. Greene has been asked to speak at several churches and has plans to speak at at least two more.
“God left me here for some reason,” she said.
The couple, who can boast three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild, know they are blessed to have been able to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary Tuesday.
“We wouldn’t have had it (the anniversary) if it hadn’t been for the Lord,” Greene said.
“God brought us through this,” he said.
His wife added, “Without God, I wouldn’t be here.”
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