Students recovering after crash of 1973 Maverick
By Madison Mings
Editor
RIVERTON — Imagine you get out of class early. You and your sister are heading home on a chilly October afternoon. While driving, you’re just wanting to go home and relax, not really thinking much of anything else until — BAM!
You get struck by someone else. Your adrenaline is rushing after you realize what has happened. You’re worried about your car and your sister.
That’s what happened to LLCC students Mason Lyons and his sister Mackenzie Lyons about 3:20 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29.
They were riding the Mason Lyons’ 1973 Maverick, which has no airbags and is all metal. They were driving on Route 54, the main street to Riverton, going 45 mph. The car that crashed into them was a 2001 Saturn. The driver was a 17-year-old girl with her mother in the passenger seat.
Mason Lyons said he slammed on his brakes at the stop sign but he still collided with the Saturn.
“She came out of nowhere,” Mackenzie Lyons said.
The driver was unfamiliar with the area and didn’t see the stop sign. She ran through it, Mackenzie Lyons said.
Mason Lyons said he was freaking out about his car.
Mackenzie interrupted and said, “He was like, ‘My car,’ while I was freaking out. He said, ‘Shut up. Are you OK?’ He seemed more worried about his car since he just … fixed up it not so long ago and has had it since he was 13 years old.”
His fender was smashed, and one of the Saturn’s car doors came off.
The paramedics came instantly, Mason Lyons said.
Paramedics tried putting Mackenzie Lyons on the hood of the car, Mason Lyons said. He was laid on the ground and his favorite jeans were cut to be able to get to his knee.
Despite being on the ground, he was trying to see his car. His dad arrived and told him not to move because his neck was in a brace. So, his dad took some pictures of both cars for Mason to see later on.
Mason Lyons suffered several small fractures to his right knee. His knee went straight into the steering column, and Mackenzie Lyons had a sprained back and bruising from the seat belt.
The other driver only suffered a busted lip from the airbags, and her mother had no injuries.
Both said they are a little paranoid driving after the crash. Both still get startled if someone gets close or see someone coming on the side that they got hit on.
It helps them be better drivers, both said, because they don’t want anything like that to happen to them again.
Mason Lyons is still in therapy for his knee injury. Mackenzie Lyons is almost done with hers from her back problems, since she had to be in a back brace.
Mason and Mackenzie Lyons are back at school and doing much better from that scary day.
Madison Mings can be reached at [email protected].