ABC’s 20/20:In An Instant Tells Story Of Heroic Rescue
The survivors and rescuers involved in a tragic accident on the 101 near Bueltton told the story in their own words during ABC’s 20/20: In An Instant.
The Saturday night program showed news footage, a firefighter’s helmet cam video and actor re-enactments to tell the story of Kelli Groves, her 10-year-old daughter Sage and her 10-month old baby girl Milo.
Groves was on maternity leave when she decided to take her daughters on a girls trip from their home in San Juan Capistrano to San Luis Obispo to see the mission Sage was writing about for a school project.
CHP investigators said semi driver Charles Arthur Allison,48, of Grover Beach was high on methamphetamines when he crashed into the BMW driven by Groves.
Allison drove the rig off a bridge and into the creek below. The impact smashed the BMW and almost took the car over the bridge with it.
The BMW, that actually belonged to Groves younger sister who said it would save her life someday, was dangling when CHP officers, firefighters and a tow truck driver arrived.
As luck would have it, a construction battalion from Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme were in the area.
The Seabees had been returning from a training with a forklift when they came upon the accident on the northbound 101 just South of Buellton.
They worked to stabilize her car on the edge of the bridge wall. The rescue took 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Witnesses said they heard the mother’s cries for help.
Firefighters used the jaws of life to get the 36 year old 1st grade teacher and her children out. They were worried about the baby, but it turns out she only suffered scrapes.
Grover and her older daughter were airlifted to Cottage hospital treated for broken bones and other injuries.
Groves didn’t want to talk publicly about the crash until she returned to Santa Barbara to meet her rescuers seven months later.
Firefighter Greg Knuckles and CHP Sgt. Don Clotworthy and Navy Seabee Michael Mccracken were among the people interviewed for the two-hour ABC program
For a link to the program go to, abc.go.com/shows/in-an-instant
