A Georgia first responder is grateful to be alive after being injured in an accident on Christmas Eve. Now, he is trying to raise money to cover his medical bills.
James Bennefield, of Newnan, said he had picked up an extra shift on Dec. 24 and was driving to work in his 2006 GT Mustang when the accelerator became stuck, WSB-TV reported.
Bennefield, who was pursuing his emergency medical technician state license and was working in Coweta County southwest of Atlanta, said he was helpless to stop his vehicle and was concerned about traffic -- even though it was light on Christmas Eve.
James Bennefield was on his way to work when he says car malfunctioned, causing him to crash. https://t.co/fQ7dXeSLI5
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) February 10, 2023
“I called 911 and begged for help, but I could barely hear the dispatcher over the sound of the V8,” the father of three boys wrote on a GoFundMe page he created. “Being a holiday, traffic was light, but I knew I was approaching a busier area with some tight turns. I knew if I was going to die, I didn’t want to kill anyone else.”
Family members said Bennefield’s vehicle reached 120 mph before he intentionally crashed his car, left the road and rolled several times before it came to a stop, according to WSB.
Bennefield said he was flown to a trauma center and received lifesaving medical care.
“I’m grateful to all the people that took part in saving my life,” Bennefield wrote on his GoFundMe page. “But now I’m looking at two enormous medical bills with no way to pay them.
“I don’t have any health insurance and I don’t make much in my line of work.”
According to his LinkedIn page, Bennefield earned his state EMT license last month. This month, he begins working with Grady Health System, according to his page.
