Carson City teen escorted on Senior Night by first responders who saved her life after she was crushed by a vehicle
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Sat, 10/23/2021 - 11:11am
On Memorial Day weekend, 17-year-old Shelby Harmon of Carson City could have lost her leg — or her life — after she was crushed against a building by a vehicle, causing a substantial injury to her leg, if it weren't for the quick-thinking actions of three off-duty first responders.
The driver of the vehicle, Frank Thompson, was parked in the Graeagle Frostee parking lot when he tried to back out of the space at a high rate of speed, revving his engine and spinning his tires.
According to a police report, Thompson stopped in the middle of the parking lot for a moment while he continued to rev the engine. He accelerated in reverse, spinning the tires again, before losing traction. A moment later, he had pinned Shelby between the building and his rear bumper.
Michael Morris, an off-duty police officer from Reno, witnessed what happened and immediately ran over to help. He opened the car door and put the car into neutral before pushing the car off of Shelby.
It was determined that she had sustained a major injury to her leg, and Michael retrieved a tourniquet from his vehicle while his wife and sister, Kimberlie Morris and Ashley Teixeira-Smith, both nurses, were able to assist while they waited for CareFlight to take Shelby to Renown.
Thomspon was arrested for reckless driving causing great bodily harm.
According to Shelby’s mother Mary Harmon, Shelby was hospitalized for two months following her injury and underwent nine different surgeries.
“If the first responders were not there, Shelby probably would have lost her leg, if not her life,” said Mary.
After being Careflighted, Shelby was placed in the Renown Trauma Unit and first underwent a surgery for an open fracture of a femur where she had to have a rod inserted.
Unfortunately, due to tissue damage from being crushed against the building, this would only be the first of many surgeries. Shelby underwent multiple skin graft surgeries with skin taken from her right thigh to help cover her left thigh.
“She had to undergo excruciating wound care changes where she needed to wear her retainers so as not to chip her teeth due to the pain; (she had to) learn to walk again and underwent hundreds of hours of physical and occupational therapy,” said Mary.
Manogue High School held Senior Night on Friday, and her saviors were there to escort her.
The announcement stated:
Escorting Shelby Harmon is her mom, Mary Harmon, along with first responders Ashley Teixeira-Smith, Kimberlie Morris and Michael Morris who saved Shelby’s life when she was crushed against a building by a car in Graeagle Memorial Day weekend.
Without their quick response, Shelby would not be cheering with us today.
The family would extend a big “Thank You” to all of the doctors, nurses and staff who have helped Shelby during her recovery.
Shelby’s recovery is ongoing, but she has been able to return to school part-time in person at Manogue while she recovers at home.
Shelby plans to attend the University of Nevada, Reno next fall where she plans to study business.
