Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 17, 1995 TAG: 9507180136
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Coach Jackie Miller and five or six fathers of Tides players lifted a Ford Bronco off a woman who had been thrown from the vehicle after it flipped in Green Hill Park, where the Tides were preparing to play a game.
Jennifer Arthur, 25, was airlifted to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she was listed Sunday in very serious condition. Both her lungs had collapsed and she was breathing with the assistance of a respirator, according to Arthur's mother, Gloria Scruggs.
``I'm so thankful those people were here to help her,'' Scruggs said. ``I don't want to think about what might have happened'' had no one been there.
Mike Webber, a member of the Fort Lewis Rescue Squad who was in the park to provide medical services, said there were enough people on the scene to have helped Arthur, but the prompt action of the coaches and parents saved Arthur from more serious injuries.
``The people who pulled the vehicle off her saved her life,'' Webber said. ``Very definitely.''
The accident occurred when the Bronco, driven by Arthur's brother, Jeremy, careened out of control after entering the park via a dirt road that leads into a wooded area.
``It looked like he gunned the engine when he hit the pavement and just lost control and flipped it,'' said Ben Lockhart, softball coordinator at the Green Hill venue.
Jennifer Arthur was thrown from the vehicle, which rolled on top of her.
Miller was leading the Tides caravan into the park when the wreck occurred. One witness said Miller had to swerve slightly to avoid the flipping Bronco.
Jeremy Arthur was not hurt. Jennifer Arthur's 7-year-old son, Travis, also was in the vehicle but was not hurt.
Miller and his team were on their way home to Virginia Beach and could not be reached Sunday.
TOP ATHLETES: Four males and two females are finalists for the CITGO Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards, which are selected by coaches and organizers involved with the Commonwealth Games.
The male finalists are: Dominick Millner, a track and field competitor from Roanoke; Keith Turner, a Roanoke roller skater; Preston Hall, a wrestler from Blacksburg; and John McCaughan, a bowler from Virginia Beach.
The female finalists are: Kathy Roberts, a powerlifter from Alexandria; and Kristy Martin of Burke, who competes in the shot put and discus.
Stuart Israel, the marketing director for Games organizers Virginia Amateur Sports, said the winners will be announced sometime in August.
BIKE FOR TWO: Although Roanoke's Steve Aukward and James Ritchie, two members of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, were the only team entered in the Tandem division of the cycling Criterium held Sunday in Vinton, their achievement should not be overlooked.
Aukward is blind, and he and Ritchie turned in the second-fastest time (22:17) in the 50-59 class. Aukward's 10-year-old daughter, Caitlin, won a silver medal in the 10-14 class. ... Legendary fitness guru Artie Levin still is at it. Levin, 81, was the lone entrant in the 80-and-up class of the Criterium.
by CNB