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A man injured when he was pinned against his trailer by another vehicle Sunday night has lost both of his legs below the knee, his family says.
According to Anchorage police, 25-year-old Israel Hale was driving on Dimond Boulevard with a trailer full of lumber when his trailer broke down. He stopped to fix it, and was hit from behind by a teenage driver, who says she was blinded by the sun.
Police say two Good Samaritans -- a female nurse and a man in a green shirt -- put tourniquets on Hale's injured legs, acts that likely saved his life. APD asked for help Monday in identifying them, since officers at the scene didn't get their names. Tuesday, police spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker said police had identified the man, and were still tracking down the nurse.
David Hale, Israel's older brother, says doctors weren't sure that Israel would make it through Monday, but by Tuesday he had stabilized. He said Israel is still in a medically induced coma, and may be sent to Seattle for further treatment. He added that there is a possibility the legs may have to be amputated further up, due to infection.
Hale says the nurse who assisted at the scene has met with the family, but did not want public attention.
"(Israel Hale's wife, Cori) would just like to let everybody know that she's very thankful for the help that was sent to her, especially from the one nurse at the hospital there, that the Lord sent, immediately, to save Israel's life," Hale said Tuesday.
The older Hale brother says Israel and Cori Hale were in the process of building a house in the Butte area.
Another concern for the Hales is mounting medical bills, paired with bills for the building of the house. An account has been set up at Wells Fargo. Anyone who wants to contribute can go into any Wells Fargo branch and make a deposit to the Friends of Israel Hale account.
David Hale says the best they can ask for is prayers for Israel Hale's recovery. He says the family has hope that good will come out of the incident.
"We really believe that this was, for whatever reason, God has plans in it. And also, I would say, that sometimes God asks us for our best, and we don't know really why, but this was defintiely Israel's best," Hale said.
Police are still investigating the crash, but David Hale says Cori Hale wanted to say that she's forgiven the driver that hit Israel, and that the family hopes the driver recovers from the incident as well.
Email Kortnie Horazdovsky