10-year-old a holiday hero: Sfter saving great-grandfather’s life
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Local resident J.B. Reynolds recently found this out first-hand when, in an somewhat unusual reversal of roles, his 10-year-old great-grandson, Andrew Haynes, was able to guide him down the mountain after a four-wheeler accident left him with some grievous and debilitating injuries.
Reynolds says Andrew’s cool-headed response, in a situation which would have left many children his age scared and disoriented, probably saved his life. Reynolds recalled how the fateful day began. It was Nov. 21, the day after his birthday.
“We’d been turkey hunting,” Reynolds said. “We didn’t have the four-wheeler with us that morning, and we came in at lunchtime and I told Andrew we’d take the four-wheeler back and that way we can go up on the mountain.”
Both were riding on Reynolds’s Honda four-wheeler near Dark Hollow Road when they attempted to climb a steep grade.
“We started up the mountain,” Reynolds said, “and we had come to a pretty steep place. I told Andrew to get off and get on the front of the four-wheeler. He did, and we started on up, just barely moving, and we got up nearly to the top.”
But despite all his caution, and even with Andrew’s weight on the front, the machine began to tip over, and Reynolds’ first thought was for Andrew’s safety.
“I hollered for Andrew to jump off,” Reynolds said, “and he jumped off. Of course when he did, why, it just came on back.”
Andrew later said the four-wheeler turned end-over-end several times before coming to rest on its wheels.
“It got me on the first flip,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds thinks the handlebars did the damage, though he isn’t sure. In any case, part of the machine landed on his face and basically crushed it. The injuries were substantial. Both jawbones were broken, the right with multiple breaks. His cheek was pierced, leaving a jagged hole and knocking out some teeth. The bones underneath his eye-sockets were crushed, one so badly it later took a metal plate to repair it. But somehow, his skull miraculously escaped injury and, probably because of this, he never actually lost consciousness.
“That’s one good thing about being so hard-headed,” Reynolds said with surprising good humor.
Despite the severity of his great-grandfather’s injuries, Andrew managed to stay calm.
“I was thinking I was going to go get help as soon as it landed,” Andrew said, but Reynolds had other ideas.
“It never did knock me out,” he said. “When everything settled down, I knew where I was at, but I didn’t know how to get off the mountain. So I asked Andrew, ‘Do you know how to get off here Andrew?’ and he said, ‘Yes.'”
Reynolds felt he could ride the four-wheeler out if Andrew could guide him. So with Andrew walking along beside him, and opening three difficult-to-manipulate gates along the way, the two managed to make their way down the mountain.
Amazingly, Reynolds says he remembers almost nothing about the trip.
Once down, Reynolds attempted to drive out in his truck, but soon met a friend, Harrison Gant, who then took Reynolds to the hospital in his car.
“As soon as they could, they took me on to Nashville,” Reynolds said, noting that Andrew insisted on going as well. “He came on down to Vanderbilt and stayed all that night.”
Reynolds said Andrew, who was visiting from Arizona, and had only turned 10 in October, was surprisingly cool-headed throughout the entire ordeal, a trait his great-grandfather says is due, in large part, to the upbringing he has gotten from his parents, Kim, who is Reynolds grand-daughter, and Capt. Bart Haynes, who is a Marine Harrier pilot, only recently returned from Iraq. In fact, a photo of Capt. Haynes’ being greeted by his family on his return, first published by the Yuma Daily Sun, was later picked up by USA Today and several other newspapers.
Reynolds and Andrew, though separated by two generations, are very close, and share an enviable toughness and strength of spirit as well.
“Andrew and I have always had a special bond,” Reynolds said, noting how glad he was to have him at his side that fateful day. “I don’t know if I would have made it without him. He’s a real hero.”