EMERY, Utah — We’re learning more about the way a community came together to help the passengers of a Greyhound bus that crashed in central Utah late Monday night. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
READ: Greyhound bus rolls on I-70 in central Utah, injuring 32
“It was probably 45 minutes to an hour between getting the phone call and having food ready,” said Kris Payne, Emery LDS Ward Bishop. “We had pancakes and bacon and eggs ready for them when they got here.”
When Kris Payne first got the call to help passengers who had just been in a crash involving a Greyhound bus on I-70, he and his neighbors in Emery didn’t hesitate to get out of bed.
“That’s just kind of the way it is around here, especially these rural areas,” Payne said.
Payne says his wife is an EMT and was already headed to the scene when he got a call from law enforcement about bringing some non-critical passengers to their church to get warm and eat.
“Designated one room, let some of them try to sleep in there, and then one of the bigger areas, more medical personnel came to evaluate some of the passengers from the bus,” Payne said. “They ended up transporting several more after they reevaluated at the church.”
In total 32 of the 37 passengers had to be treated. Bishop Payne says most of the passengers were shaken up after the wild ride, but thankful strangers were there to take care of them.
“If someone needs help, whether they’re a member of our church or a stranger, people here jump at the chance to help,” Payne said.
One of those passengers is Mary Morrisett, who was on her way to start trucking school in Salt Lake City. Right now, Mary is in a Provo hospital. Her husband flew in from Georgia Tuesday night.
“Her hips got dislocated, somehow her socket, a piece of bone got chipped off, and her other hip got fractured,” said Will Morrisett, Mary’s husband.
Mary had a six-hour surgery Wednesday to put plates and screws in her hip.
Her family started a GoFundMe to help Mary and her husband whose lives are now disrupted.
“It hurts a lot because now it’s just me and I can’t be at work right now,” Will said. “Really grateful because it could have been a whole lot worse.”
According to the doctor, Mary won’t be able to put weight on her hip for three months, then will use a walker for another three months.
Here’s a link to Mary’s GoFundMe page if you’d like to help pay for medical bills and to help build a ramp at her home for her months of recovery.
