A Calgary-area mom said the pain she feels after the loss of her daughter in a crash west of Airdrie last week is “indescribable.”
Only Jayme Erickson was already unknowingly at the scene of the Nov. 15 incident.
Erickson, a paramedic, was called out to a crash west of Airdrie around 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 15, according to information provided by the family. Two people had been on a dog walking excursion, when the vehicle lost control and struck another, Erickson told media Tuesday.
When EMS arrived, there were two patients with injuries – including a passenger who was trapped and critically injured, the family said.
“I sat in the car and tended to the critically injured patient, doing whatever I could while fire extricated her,” Erickson said in a statement.
STARS air ambulance took over patient care and the victim was flown to Foothills Medical Centre.
After her shift, Erickson went home.
“Minutes after arriving home, my doorbell rang. My life was changed forever,” Erickson said.
“RCMP were at my door, to inform me that my daughter had been in an accident. The critically injured patient I had just attended to, was my own flesh and blood.”
Montana Erickson was the 17-year-old daughter of Jayme.
‘My mini-me’
Erickson said she was taken to Foothills to see her daughter. It’s at that point they told her that Montana wouldn’t survive.
“I cannot help but be angry for the short amount of time I was given with her. 17 years was not long enough,” Erickson wrote.
According to a GoFundMe set up in memory of Montana, the family has collectively served nearly 30 years as advanced care paramedics.
The GoFundMe has been set up with a $55,000 goal. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had already reached $46,815.
“I will cherish the memories we made and the time we had together. I am shattered. I am broken,” Erickson said.
“I am missing a piece of me. I am left to pick up the pieces and expected to carry on.”
Montana’s organs were donated to two people, family said.
Airdrie RCMP continue to investigate the crash.
