MHP honors McKay for effort at crash scene

By JOE SOVA

Hungry Horse News

You may have seen it happen before. A car crash has occurred on a highway you're traveling. Drivers slow to get a look at the wreck, but they do not stop and offer assistance.

Valerie McKay of Columbia Falls was driving on U.S. Highway 93 between Whitefish and Kalispell about 8:15 on the snowy morning of Jan. 23 this year. Her 20-year-old son, Jan Vondrich, was with her. They came upon a two-vehicle head-on crash. Valerie didn't drive on by. She stopped.

"We came on it pretty quickly," Valerie said last week. "My son saw what was going on."

Road conditions contributed to the crash, as 61-year-old Janet Peterson of Kalispell lost control on the slushy highway and ran head-on into another vehicle.

While Jan guided traffic past the crash scene, Valerie rendered CPR to Peterson. She had been ejected from her vehicle.

"I didn't know she was laying there until I was halfway across the road," Valerie remembered. "There is not a lot of time to think… They only have a handful of minutes."

And the weather conditions made the CRP process difficult, according to Valerie.

It had been 25 years since she attended a CPR class, but she did what she could to try to keep Peterson alive. Unfortunately, Peterson died at the scene.

For her act of valor, the Montana Highway Patrol Meritorious Service Award was presented to Valerie by Trooper Jerril Ren on Aug. 29. Ren nominated Valerie for the award. It is only given once or twice a year statewide, according to MHP Sgt. Steve Lavin.

"She gave that person the best potential to survive," Ren said before presenting the plaque to Valerie.

"It's humbling, for sure," an emotional Valerie said and spoke of the incident. "It's a sad and depressing thing."

She gave credit to highway patrol officers for the situations that they face.

"It's what these guys go through and what they take home with them," Valerie said. "I don't feel like I'm any kind of a hero. It's what everybody has to do."

What probably played a role in Valerie's actions is that her father, Thomas, was an anestheseologist at North Valley Hospital years ago.

Valerie said that her son Jan is "my little hero." She calls him very caring. "He's a great kid."

In addition to Jan, Valerie got lots of support from her husband, Denny Haack, after the incident. It has taken Valerie time to recover — emotionally.

But if a similar situation comes up again, Valerie will be prepared to do what she can to help.