Friday, July 30, 2010

Everyday KY Tow Hero

Round of applause to Stephen Mulberry of Owens Wrecker Service who helped police catch the driver who hit this 12-year-old girl and drove away!
Here's the story from The Times-Tribune:
CORBIN — By Becky Manley / Staff Writer

The 12-year-old girl who was struck by a hit-and-run driver Monday needs surgery to repair her injured knees.

The girl, Meghan Roehrich, was with her younger brother about 3 p.m. when a van driving toward Corbin on Cumberland Falls Highway struck her, according to Angie Cook, owner of This & That, a business located next to the Roehrichs’ home.

The van never stopped after the girl was struck.

Cook, who was among those who dialed 911, said she ran outside to help Meghan. Another neighbor, Rita Hensler, who said she heard a “thud” then looked outside her window only to see Meghan on the highway, also dialed 911. Hensler went outside to see if the girl was conscious and a passerby who stopped to help told her an ambulance was already on its way.

As they waited for the ambulance, cook said Meghan was quiet at first, then she asked for her father, Stephen Roehrich, who was already by her side, Cook said. Meghan then asked for Cook’s son, who had attended Oak Grove Elementary School with her.

Cook said her sons held sheets above Meghan to shield her from the hot sun.

“She didn’t cry one time,” Cook said, adding that Meghan did say her back hurt as rescuers and good Samaritans helped to transfer her onto a gurney.

Hensler said she later talked to Meghan’s grandmother and heard the girl had been transferred from Baptist Regional Medical Center to University of Kentucky Medical Center.

“When they said they airlifted her, we knew she was in trouble,” Hensler said.

Corbin police said the girl was in serious condition Monday. On Tuesday, Cook said a family member told her Meghan was in fair condition and was expected to have surgery to repair injuries to her leg and knee.

Cook also said Meghan had stitches to repair an injury to her head and that her pelvis was fractured.

Hensler said the highway remained closed for two hours as the police investigation began.

After Meghan was struck, a description of the van was announced over the radio. A tow truck driver, Stephen Mulberry of Owens Wrecker Service, spotted the van and followed it to a residence on the northeast corner of 11th Street and Kentucky Avenue. Several minutes later, Col. Bruce Rains of the Corbin Police Department arrested the driver, Michael Petrey, 42.

Petrey was booked into the Whitley County Detention Center Monday and charged with second-degree assault, leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a license and failure to maintain required insurance, according to Whitley County Detention Center records.

The investigation by Corbin police continues.

To help

Collections are being taken to benefit Meghan Roehrich, 12, who suffered serious injuries after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver Monday.

—Angie Cook, owner of This & That, located along Cumberland Falls Highway between I-75 and KY 727, said she will donate to the Roehrich family half of her profit from sales at her store Wednesday and Thursday. She will also have a jar taking cash donations. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

—Cook has arranged for donations to be accepted and a moment of prayer for the Roehrich family to be observed Friday at a free karaoke night in the parking lot of Sing and Dance. The event begins at 7:30 p.m.

—Oak Grove Elementary School is collecting money and gift cards for the Roehrich family. For more information, call 549-7867.

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