Since May 25, Brad Cunningham has been praying for resolution.
It was a day like every other, which he started at work as a registered nurse in Sharon. And at the end of his shift, he left for his home in Austintown.
But when he got to a stretch of Interstate 80 in Liberty, he saw another truck headed east. It swerved, and the camper behind it broke away. The truck rolled several times down an embankment.
"I saw it happen," he said. "I pulled over into the grass and went down."
After he ran through traffic, jumped over the median and climbed down the hill, he found the badly damaged truck along with Bryan and Dorothy Treible, who'd been heading from their home in Indiana to visit family in New York. They were both trapped in the truck; Dorothy's arm was mangled and bleeding heavily.
"I felt helpless I couldn't get to them," said Cunningham. "I remember giving Mr. Treible a towel, I told him to hold pressure on her arm. I was trying to keep her awake. It seemed like forever (before EMS crews) got there, but it was pretty quick."
The Treibles were taken St. Elizabeth Health Center, and while Cunningham called a few times in the days after, he didn't have a correct spelling on their names and couldn't get much information because of privacy laws.
"I never knew what happened," he said. "I didn't think she would survive."
But both Treibles did survive and were in the hospital until June 16, when Bryan went home and Dorothy was admitted to a rehabilitation center in Indiana. Dorothy, 71, had injuries to her arm and neck and had several cuts. Bryan, 70, had four broken ribs.
Their daughter, Wendy Barker, lives in Texas and, while she doesn't know anyone in Ohio, was helped by several in the area. They include a towing company that retrieved her parents' belongings from the crash site, an eyeglass store that donated a pair of glasses to her mom and people at St. E's who cared for the Treibles.
Barker wrote a letter telling her story to Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, the Better Business Bureau and the Youngstown-Warren Chamber of Commerce, all of which then scheduled an event Friday to honor those involved.
Also in her letter, Barker mentioned a nurse who helped her parents at the crash site, but for whom she had no name. A worker at the chamber remembered Cunningham's father, an acquaintance, talking about the crash. Cunningham was told of the event Wednesday and was able to connect with both Barker and her dad.
"I'm glad I found out she survived," Cunningham said. "They even saved her arm."
"I have been praying since this happened I would somehow get resolution to this," said Cunningham. "I have to drive by there every day...every day I drive past and ask for God to give me an answer."
He spoke with Bryan nearly an hour Wednesday, and Barker told her mom he wanted to talk with her when he could.
"She said, 'Oh, I will never forget his voice'," said Barker.
While Barker said she wouldn't be able to make Friday's event, she plans to drive through the area later this month after flying to Indiana to see her parents. On her long list of people to visit will be Cunningham.
"I told him this is all by the grace of God," said Barker. "I really believe he saved her life."
