COOLIDGE, Ariz. — Feb. 14 will be a day one Coolidge family will remember for all the wrong reasons because in a matter of seconds, everything changed.
"They were lucky to survive," Steve Sherwood said.
On that day, Sherwood's wife, Leigh, and their 28-year-old son, Cole, had won a team roping competition in Eloy. Leigh and Cole got in their car to head home but Steve said he stayed behind to speak with a close friend. Shortly after, Steve got in his friend's car to head home as well.
"We were trailing behind like five minutes," he said. "And as we were going north on Arizona State Route 87, we saw up ahead what looked like an accident."
Sherwood says his gut told him immediately that something wasn't right with it. He saw his family's car and ran.
"The first thing I think of was it might be my wife and son since they traveled that road," he said. "I definitely had a feeling, hopefully, it wasn't but in this case it was. I got up there and saw them and they were both mangled is a good way to put it. Their legs were turned in ways they shouldn't be, my son's arm was broken with the bone sticking out."
Sherwood says the two were both conscious and talking but in bad shape. He worked quickly to try and keep them safe and alive.
"My son was very responsive," he said. "He said, 'Dad my arm's broken and the bone is sticking out, I think I'm going to die.' It wasn't a great moment for sure, it was very tough."
Coolidge Police tell 12News that before 4 p.m., there was a two-vehicle head-on collision on Highway 87 near Arica Road. Both vehicles received devastating front-end damage and occupants were extricated from the vehicles. The driver of the other vehicle was also seriously hurt.
"I looked at the police report which is incomplete because the investigation is ongoing," Sherwood said. "But apparently he had looked down to check a message or look at his phone and when he looked up the brake lights were stopping, and he didn't have time to stop and his reaction was to veer around that car. Unfortunately, he veered into the oncoming lane so my wife being northbound, she didn't have time to react."
All three were life-flighted to nearby hospitals. Sherwood says he's been in the hospital since the accident to be by his son and wife's sides.
"As a dad you want to be able to take care of your kids and as a husband you want to take care of your wife," he said. "The hardest part is not being able to do anything other than holding their hand."
Sherwood says his wife has multiple fractures including to her femur, ribs and skull. Their son, he says also has a long way to go.
"He has more things wrong with him," Sherwood said. "He's got trouble but he's making progress and he's doing good."
Sherwood says the one thing getting his family through this nightmare is the generosity of friends, family and even strangers. People have been constantly checking on them, bringing meals and doing what they can to help. Sherwood says there are no words.
"It's been amazing to see," he said. "We're so grateful if I could get one message out there I'm so grateful to people. It's a long road ahead but we'll get through this. It would be tempting to be negative and say, 'Why us?' But every once in a while the ball rolls around and it's your turn to have bad luck and you can grow from it and become stronger and I think we're going to."
A GoFundMe has been set up for the family to help with medical costs. If you'd like to donate you can go here.
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