SEATTLE, Wash. — A Seattle woman was hospitalized with severe injuries after losing control of her car and crashing on the Aurora Bridge Friday morning.
According to her friend, Missy Gerst, Jess Garcia suffered fractures to her neck and back during the crash and subsequently underwent surgery to stabilize her spinal cord.
Garcia was traveling to her job at a senior living center when she swerved to avoid another driver, lost control of her vehicle, and crashed near the guardrails, according to Gerst, who is now trying to help her friend cover some sizable medical expenses.
The incident shut down the Aurora Bridge Friday morning, and Garcia was transported to Harborview Medical Center for emergency medical treatment following the collision.
As her vehicle careened across the bridge, Garcia said she was terrified of plunging over the guardrails, according to Gerst.
“I was spinning and all I was thinking was, ‘Please don’t fall off the bridge,’” Gerst said, relaying what Garcia told her while trying to recount the incident to her friend.
Gerst has spent several days by Garcia’s bedside since the crash.
Monday, Gerst spoke to KIRO 7 to tell the story of what happened to her friend, as well as bring attention to the GoFundMe she launched on Garcia’s behalf.
In 2015, a crash involving a Ride the Ducks amphibious vehicle and a tour bus on the Aurora Bridge caused a massive emergency response.
Gerst remembered that incident, and when she had heard that her friend was involved in a crash on the same bridge, she feared the worst.
She says Garcia contacted her from the hospital Friday afternoon to ask for help, and also to ask for her to help in caring for her dog.
“She called me around 2:30 in the afternoon, and she’s like, ‘They were supposed to call you,’” Gerst said after admitting that she is Garcia’s emergency contact.
Gerst said that Garcia gave the hospital the wrong number or that the hospital may have gotten it wrong, leading to a major lag in time when she was not able to connect with her friend.
“And I’m like, ‘Where are you?’” Gerst said before she rushed to Harborview Medical Center.
Garcia initially believed her hospital stay would be brief.
“When I got there, she’s like, well, it’s OK,” Gerst said. “I just have a fracture in my neck and one in my lower back and they’ll probably send me home. And I’m like, OK. And they did not send her home.”
Medical staff kept Garcia at the hospital, where she underwent surgery on her spine.
Gerst said her friend now faces a long recovery expected to last at least a month.
“It’s really hard, because she’s so tough,” Gerst said. “And so, she’s just laying in this bed.”
Gerst has stepped in to assist Garcia throughout her hospitalization, describing her friend as someone who typically drops everything to help others.
“Life does not stop ‘life-ing,’ and so anything I can do,” Gerst said. “She’s a phenomenal person. She shows up the second something happens, she shows up. So, for me -- she didn’t even want -- she didn’t even want to burden me.”
KIRO 7 contacted the Seattle Police Department to get some more details on the crash, but the communications office had difficulty getting access to the crash report. SPD did not release any more details Monday.
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