VERGENNES, Vt. (WCAX) - On August 1st, we brought you information about a fatal ATV crash in Starksboro.
Two men, 21 year old Tracy Bedell and 18 year old Robert Lowell were riding ATVs on Route 116 when they were hit by an oncoming vehicle.
Both men lost their lives.
But out of a tragic incident comes a glimmer of light, thanks to Bedell’s family.
Elissa Borden met up with them this week to check in on how they’re honoring a life lost.
“Tracy is a unique soul. He’s always walked his own path, he’s always been his own individual, he’s kind and giving an generous. If anybody needed help, he would be the first one to say how can I help you? What can I do for you?”
Maria Bedell remembers her brother fondly.
“He’s just a giving soul and he would want the community to have something positive out of this tragic incident," she says.
After losing him to a tragic summer ATV accident, the family began working to give others in need the best emergency care possible -- so they started the Tracy Bedell Memorial Fund to benefit local rescues.
When Tracy’s grandmother asked Vergennes Area Rescue Squad what they needed, their response was simple -- a Stryker LUCAS 3 machine.
“That pushed us to start going to Bristol Rescue and Vergennes and be like well how can we help you get this money? And because of COVID, it’s been really hard for our small rescue squads to raise money and do fundraising like they would normally do. So we stepped up and we’re like okay community, we need to do this," says Maria Bedell.
The expensive and effective machines automatically perform CPR compressions so medics can work on other life-saving procedures in transit. But because of the price tag, they’re not often seen among crews.
“These machines cost about $15,000 and there’s a lot of equipment for ambulances that we need. We have monitors, we have stretchers, we have to buy new ambulances from time to time," explains Jenna Lindemann, training coordinator for Vergennes Area Rescue Squad.
Lindemann says these machines could make the difference between life or death, especially when it comes to cardiac arrest calls.
“We can have anywhere from a 20 minute transport to an hour transport depending on where we are, and compressions are tiring. And to make sure you’re giving the best care to your patient, this now takes my focus off of that and I can focus elsewhere," says Lindemann.
The Bedell’s raised enough money to give the Vergennes Rescue Squad their very own LUCAS 3, delivered in October.
“We’re very thankful for the Bedell’s for doing this. Unfortunately it comes out of tragedy and at a cost but for them to step forward and be willing to do this for us, we’re very grateful for it," says Lindemann.
Now, they’re working to buy one more for Bristol Rescue.
They have about $10,000 more to raise to get another machine and the training mannequin to go with it.
They’ve organized motorcycle rides, coin drops, a GoFundMe, and now a bottle drive until Dec 31.
To donate bottles, text or call Mary at 802-349-7495, or Maria at 802-458-7087.
Copyright 2020 WCAX. All rights reserved.
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Remembering Tracy Bedell: family buys emergency crews CPR machines - WCAX
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