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After a car hit him and threw him 30 feet, Draper Fire Battalion Chief in ‘good spirits’ with just minor injuries

Posted at 7:48 PM, Dec 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-28 21:48:20-05

DRAPER, Utah -- Draper Fire Battalion Chief, Bart Vawdrey, injured after a car hit him on I-15, is in good spirits and hopes to be home soon.

Chief Vawdrey has been recovering at the Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.

He suffered soft tissue damage but the Draper Fire Chief Clint Smith says it's a miracle he wasn't injured much more seriously or even killed.

"As we spoke in hospital, I told him he gave me a scare I would have rather not had," Chief Smith said. "He responded he scared himself."

Vawdrey was hit by a car that was travelling 40 mph Thursday night as he responded to a crash on I-15 near the Point of the Mountain.

The Chief was thrown 25 to 30 feet into traffic, but was able to crawl to safety and call for help on his radio.

He was transported to the hospital in critical condition and it was feared he had broken bones and internal injuries, but as it turns out, he suffered only soft tissue damage.

Vawdrey is a veteran of more than 25 years of firefighting, and Chief Smith thinks it's that experience that saved his life.