10 Years later, survivor of crash recalls incident

Robbie Petersen said he learned to not take life for granted after being one of two survivors of a fatal van accident which happened on Sept. 25, 2005; Saturday is the 10-year anniversary of the crash.

Petersen said he was only a month into his freshman year of studying agricultural systems and technology at Utah State University when the accident happened.

He was in a 15-passenger van with his fellow agriculture and applied science colleagues when a tire blew out and rolled the vehicle while traveling on Interstate 84.

“We were on a field trip for a harvesting class here at Utah State, and we went to go look at a piece of equipment out by Tremonton, and we had a car accident on the way back,” he said.

Petersen said only two of the 11 people survived: Jared Nelson and himself. The deceased victims were Steven Bair, Dusty Fuhriman, Justin Gunnell, Justin Huggins, Jonathan Jorgensen, Curt Madsen, Ryan McEntire, Evan Parker and Bradley Wilcox.

“They all passed away as a result of their injuries,” he said. “It was a very tragic occurrence that affected a lot of people. It has greatly affected the families of those involved. It was a very sad time for many of those families. I am sure the wounds haven’t yet and will never heal for them.”

Petersen said the other survivor, Nelson, never fully recovered from the crash.

He said that Nelson sustained serious brain trauma in the accident and is restricted to a wheelchair with a limited conscious state.

“He’s not all there,” Petersen said. “He is unable to communicate other than he is able to smile and laugh and show some emotion, but he can’t talk, and he can’t walk.”

Nelson’s wife, Amy, has been his primary caretaker for the last 10 years, Petersen said.

“She has been an angel along the whole way,” he said. “She pushes him around [in his wheelchair] and takes care of him. She’s a great example for all of us.”

Petersen was the only person to come out of the accident without pervasive injuries, although he did spend two weeks in the hospital after the accident.

Petersen said both his legs were broken. He also sustained broken ribs, a broken nose and a fracture in his left foot, as well as cuts and scrapes.

Being the only person to come away from the accident relatively unscathed is bittersweet, he said.

“As a survivor, I got a second chance,” he said. “But at the same time, it is hard and difficult to be the one that more or less walked away from it.”

At first, Petersen said he wasn’t able to come to grips with the accident.

“There was a moment in the hospital that I had to come to terms with what happened, and I just had to accept it for what it was,” he said.

Petersen said one thing he learned from the crash was the power of community.

“There was a great outpouring of fasting and prayers and a great deal of support,” he said. “It was very humbling to see the power of prayer and the power of fasting in my life and in the lives of those that were also affected by the accident.”

After the crash, he took a year off to recover and began taking classes again in 2006. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree from USU in 2011, and he has since worked all over the country in the agriculture industry.

“Just this last year I’ve changed jobs, and I am teaching at the high school level,” he said. “Having never taught before it is frustrating. I can’t say yet at this point I have found the reward, but I know it is there somewhere I just have to find it.”

Along with establishing his career, Petersen said he married his wife, Alexa, three years ago.

Petersen said he welcomed his first child this summer — a boy named Daniel.

He said having Daniel has put the van crash into a different light.

“For me to imagine that something like the accident happening to my son at that age would be more devastating than I had imagined at this point,” he said. “I just have a greater respect for the parents of those and the families of those who were lost.”

Petersen said the accident made him realize how valuable life is.

“I wouldn’t call life fragile, I would look at life as valuable,” he said.