NEWPORT -- Fred Johnson and his daughter Cara arrived at Widow Creek minutes after hearing of a wreck on the scanner. They heard someone yelling 'Help,' walked to the edge and saw a Ford Bronco upside down in the water, neighbor John Profitt standing chest deep in the creek holding a boy's head above the water.
"He was yelling, 'I need a knife,'" Johnson testified Tuesday in Lincoln County Circuit Court.
They slid to the bottom of the steep hillside. One child had already been freed and was safe on the bank. Fred Johnson gave Profitt his work knife and between the two of them they freed a toddler, and then the children's mother, Amber Gandy, then 26.
"She was hysterical," Johnson said. "She was screaming, 'There are three.'" They looked in the back of the Bronco, but saw no sign of another child. Then, they found him in the front seat fully submerged in his infant car seat.
Rescuers who scrambled to save the child relived that day in court this week where Gandy, 28, faces nine criminal charges including a Measure 11 assault charge that carries a mandatory 70 months is prison. She is accused of driving drunk with a blood alcohol level that measured .243 at the hospital just after the wreck and with marijuana in her system on a curving narrow road in "rotten" conditions. She had a suspended license and no insurance.
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The Oregonian’s continuing coverage of Amber Gandy and her November 2009 accident at Widow Creek.
"The key issue and allegation is the defendant acted under circumstances extremely indifferent to human life," said defense attorney Alan Biedermann in his opening statement. "The state will not prove that," he said.
Gandy waived her right to a trial by jury, leaving the verdict and sentence in the hands of Lincoln County Circuit Judge Thomas Branford.
The Ford Bronco plunged off the winding road 12 miles east of Lincoln City around 3:50 p.m. Nov. 18, 2009. The Profitts were the first to spot the vehicle in the creek. Sherri Profitt called 911, while John Profitt did what he could to help free the victims. That's when the Johnsons came along to help.
"John found the other infant," Fred Johnson said, describing the rescue of six-month-old Kameron Gandy. "I went in and cut him out. I thought we retrieved a dead child. John had lost a grandson and he said, 'I can't do this.' He was blue and he looked plastic. I handed him off to a fireman."
Cara Johnson estimated it was 15 to 20 minutes before they freed the child.
"Did you see the baby," asked Marcia Buckley, Lincoln County chief deputy district attorney.
"Oh my gosh," said Johnson. "I have nightmares. It was blue. I swear it was not coming back."
But doctors did revive Kameron, working for four hours in which he died multiple times, Buckley said.
His current physician, Dr. William Koenig was the first to testify.
Today, Kameron is 2. He can walk, but has some balance issues; he can talk, but struggles, Koenig said. But the biggest challenge is swallowing and he must eat thickened food so that he doesn't choke on it. He suffered anoxic – without oxygen – brain injury.
"The prognosis is good that he is going to make almost a complete recovery," said Koenig. "He might always have to drink a glass of nectar instead of milk. If he can walk across a room, is that a full recovery or should he be running a 100 yard dash?"
During testimony Gandy sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
The trial is set to continue Wednesday and is scheduled for two days next week.
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"He was yelling, 'I need a knife,'" Johnson testified Tuesday in Lincoln County Circuit Court.
They slid to the bottom of the steep hillside. One child had already been freed and was safe on the bank. Fred Johnson gave Profitt his work knife and between the two of them they freed a toddler, and then the children's mother, Amber Gandy, then 26.
"She was hysterical," Johnson said. "She was screaming, 'There are three.'" They looked in the back of the Bronco, but saw no sign of another child. Then, they found him in the front seat fully submerged in his infant car seat.
Rescuers who scrambled to save the child relived that day in court this week where Gandy, 28, faces nine criminal charges including a Measure 11 assault charge that carries a mandatory 70 months is prison. She is accused of driving drunk with a blood alcohol level that measured .243 at the hospital just after the wreck and with marijuana in her system on a curving narrow road in "rotten" conditions. She had a suspended license and no insurance.
More
The Oregonian’s continuing coverage of Amber Gandy and her November 2009 accident at Widow Creek.
"The key issue and allegation is the defendant acted under circumstances extremely indifferent to human life," said defense attorney Alan Biedermann in his opening statement. "The state will not prove that," he said.
Gandy waived her right to a trial by jury, leaving the verdict and sentence in the hands of Lincoln County Circuit Judge Thomas Branford.
The Ford Bronco plunged off the winding road 12 miles east of Lincoln City around 3:50 p.m. Nov. 18, 2009. The Profitts were the first to spot the vehicle in the creek. Sherri Profitt called 911, while John Profitt did what he could to help free the victims. That's when the Johnsons came along to help.
"John found the other infant," Fred Johnson said, describing the rescue of six-month-old Kameron Gandy. "I went in and cut him out. I thought we retrieved a dead child. John had lost a grandson and he said, 'I can't do this.' He was blue and he looked plastic. I handed him off to a fireman."
Cara Johnson estimated it was 15 to 20 minutes before they freed the child.
"Did you see the baby," asked Marcia Buckley, Lincoln County chief deputy district attorney.
"Oh my gosh," said Johnson. "I have nightmares. It was blue. I swear it was not coming back."
But doctors did revive Kameron, working for four hours in which he died multiple times, Buckley said.
His current physician, Dr. William Koenig was the first to testify.
Today, Kameron is 2. He can walk, but has some balance issues; he can talk, but struggles, Koenig said. But the biggest challenge is swallowing and he must eat thickened food so that he doesn't choke on it. He suffered anoxic – without oxygen – brain injury.
"The prognosis is good that he is going to make almost a complete recovery," said Koenig. "He might always have to drink a glass of nectar instead of milk. If he can walk across a room, is that a full recovery or should he be running a 100 yard dash?"
During testimony Gandy sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
The trial is set to continue Wednesday and is scheduled for two days next week.
