Article by Maddie Riggs
**Warning: the content of this article is graphic. Reader's discretion is advised**
Interviewee: Haley Riggs (author's sister)
I sat down with my sister for the first time in a long time to hear the full, uncensored
version of the event that changed her life forever.
Haley began, “It was July 13th, 2001 and I was 15 years old when I was almost killed in
a car accident. I was at my best friend’s house that morning because I had stayed over the night
before. It was between 10 and 11 in the morning when a good friend of mine named Aaron and
his friend (who everyone called Squeak) stopped by to see if we wanted to go for a ride. We both
wanted to go but my friend's dad said she had to stay home. When I tried to leave with them she
begged me not to go. I didn't listen." Haley's friend's dad could not have picked a better time to
be strict with his daughter, I thought quietly.
Haley continued, "We all got in the car and started down the street. I remember telling
the guys to put on their seatbelt because it was Friday the 13th. When we got to the stop sign I
started freaking out in my head. Something was telling me that I should get out, and get out now!
God, I never forgot that feeling and I never will. I didn't listen to my gut, I just went along with
it." Haley took a breath and she tried to figure out where to go from there. I started to write
quickly as the story poured out.
"We got to Andy's (our uncle's) house. I stayed in the car while the guys were talking to
Andy in the yard. I could kind of hear the conversation when it shifted to their cars. Guys
being guys were talking about how fast their cars were. Andy drove a white firebird while Aaron
drove an Eagle Talon with a turbo. Before I knew it the guys were back in the car and Andy was
getting into his. Naturally they wanted to race. It was a small town with not much to do and
racing wasn’t new. Andy was in front of us when we both pulled out onto Belgrade Swansboro
Road. The minute we pulled out onto the two lane highway Andy passed us trying to show off." I
let Haley pause while my hand cramped up and we both took a breath before she continued.
"We were going around the curve and both of us were just picking up speed. Normally
you could see around the curve but there was a cornfield and the corn had gotten really high.
Aaron had hit the gas to try and get around Andy but by the time we were in the other lane we
saw the dump truck. I remember thinking I was going to die. The dump truck swerved and
landed in a ditch and Aaron had stomped the brake pedal. We were going about 70 or so mph
and when he hit the break the back of the car started to fishtail. We were neck and neck with
Andy's car in the right lane and when the back of the car started to fishtail it hit Andy's car. We
were airborne and when the car reached the ground it flipped five times before finally landing in a
ditch down the road. Andy's car was fine and he pulled onto a road right next to the ditch and got
out running over to us."
By this time Haley only knows what she was told. Apparently she was conscious but
because she was in shock she doesn't remember. Both Aaron and "Squeak" got out with
only bumps and bruises.
"The only thing I vaguely remember is Aaron screaming 'Haley's dead, she's dead!" Haley recalled.
Haley's face was lying in the backseat floorboard of the car. With her sinuses ripped out
and her face caved in, in complete shock, she tried to climb out of the mangled car. The guys ran
over trying to hold her down until the paramedics got there. The paramedics drove Haley to
Onslow Hospital but by the time she got there the doctors realized her injuries were too severe.
She was then airlifted to Pitt Memorial on the ECU campus. Haley had to have 7 reconstruction
surgeries by plastic surgeons from across the state, then another surgery to remove her right eye.
I remember my dad telling me his side of the story a couple of weeks ago. My dad frowned as he
said "I remember standing in the hallway with her doctor and Haley's momma when the doctor
asked us to sign a release form for them to remove her eye. What do you say or do when
someone says they want to take out your daughter's eye?" my dad said getting choked up (though
he tried to cover it with a pitiful laugh). "The doctor told us that the eye that ruptured could stay
in there but (what my dad calls the 'Jealous Eye Effect') if it did then it would start pulling
information and energy from the good eye and her good eye would start to deteriorate.
Eventually she would be completely blind in both eyes. I had no choice. I cried as I signed the
paper." Hearing my dad tell the story had me a bit choked up, too.
When Haley woke up she was doped up on so many painkillers and sedatives (because
she was put into a medically induced coma for a while) my family had to tell the story over and
over again. They later had put the pieces back together of why Haley was the only one hurt. An
amplifier connected to the speakers was in the back of the car and it wasn't bolted down like it
was supposed to be. It sat on the hatchback above the trunk right behind Haley and it became
airborne during the crash, landing on her. When it hit her in the face it broke every single bone
except her forehead. (jaw, nose, cheeks, eye sockets, everything).
Haley said, "I wish you could see the Xray, it was wicked, there was just little pieces everywhere, no
solid bone."
It was actually quite the miracle because as the doctors explained, had the amp hit any
lower it would have decapitated her, if it hit any higher it would have caused so much damage
that she would have been left brain dead. Her face was made up of 13 metal plates, mesh wiring,
and a prosthetic eye. Haley was in the hospital for 2 months (was only released early because her
mom had previous nurse training). She had a tracia and a feeding tube, as well as her jaw wired
shut for 6 months. She couldn't talk for nearly a year. Haley recalled the moment one month after
the crash when she was in the hospital and saw her face for the first time. (This was really hard
for me to hear just because I simply could not handle it if I were her. She's really strong).
"I remember just then being able to get out of bed and there was a little mirror over a
sink across the room." Sandy (our other sister only about 13 at the time) tried to prevent Haley
from looking because she was afraid of her reaction. Peeling open her one good eye, Haley
looked into the tiny mirror at her face that was bruised, stitched, cut, and partially wrapped up. A
face that wasn't hers. The medical bills lasted for years, as did the lawyers. Doctors from all over
the state wanted to see and talk to Haley because she was the first full face reconstruction done in
the area. Her pictures/story are still in the medical textbooks at ECU today.
14 years later Haley's face still bares the scars of that day. We can look back now and laugh at the craziness of it. We even make the one eye jokes (she laughs too, I promise), but the reality of it is, this was devastating. Aaron was forever changed by the damage he did to his best friend. After years and years of drug abuse, he eventually overdosed and died last summer.
This crash literally affected everyone involved. We hear a lot about crashes but never this detailed. I'm in a
club you know as Joco Teen Drivers and though Haley (nor I) was in Johnston County when the crash happened,
we were only a few counties over, Haley was our age.
To think something that life altering can happen to someone younger than me is crazy. Yes, we hear the stories but much like anything we don't care until it happens to us. Racing is bad, seat belts are good, but I don't want to preach
that on deaf ears. This is important and until each of us understand how easy it is to lose our life,
these accidents are not going to go down in number by any means. I hope her story, our story,
reaches some of you. I hope it makes you think twice before making a decision that could cost
your life. Remember that when you're in the car with someone else, their life is now in your
hands. Would you be able to handle the guilt if something happened to your friends or family
while you were behind the wheel? You don’t have to answer that question as long as you stay
responsible both in the driver and passenger seat. Your life can change in the blink of an eye for
better or worse. Don’t take anything for granted, especially life.
**Warning: the content of this article is graphic. Reader's discretion is advised**
Interviewee: Haley Riggs (author's sister)
I sat down with my sister for the first time in a long time to hear the full, uncensored
version of the event that changed her life forever.
Haley began, “It was July 13th, 2001 and I was 15 years old when I was almost killed in
a car accident. I was at my best friend’s house that morning because I had stayed over the night
before. It was between 10 and 11 in the morning when a good friend of mine named Aaron and
his friend (who everyone called Squeak) stopped by to see if we wanted to go for a ride. We both
wanted to go but my friend's dad said she had to stay home. When I tried to leave with them she
begged me not to go. I didn't listen." Haley's friend's dad could not have picked a better time to
be strict with his daughter, I thought quietly.
Haley continued, "We all got in the car and started down the street. I remember telling
the guys to put on their seatbelt because it was Friday the 13th. When we got to the stop sign I
started freaking out in my head. Something was telling me that I should get out, and get out now!
God, I never forgot that feeling and I never will. I didn't listen to my gut, I just went along with
it." Haley took a breath and she tried to figure out where to go from there. I started to write
quickly as the story poured out.
"We got to Andy's (our uncle's) house. I stayed in the car while the guys were talking to
Andy in the yard. I could kind of hear the conversation when it shifted to their cars. Guys
being guys were talking about how fast their cars were. Andy drove a white firebird while Aaron
drove an Eagle Talon with a turbo. Before I knew it the guys were back in the car and Andy was
getting into his. Naturally they wanted to race. It was a small town with not much to do and
racing wasn’t new. Andy was in front of us when we both pulled out onto Belgrade Swansboro
Road. The minute we pulled out onto the two lane highway Andy passed us trying to show off." I
let Haley pause while my hand cramped up and we both took a breath before she continued.
"We were going around the curve and both of us were just picking up speed. Normally
you could see around the curve but there was a cornfield and the corn had gotten really high.
Aaron had hit the gas to try and get around Andy but by the time we were in the other lane we
saw the dump truck. I remember thinking I was going to die. The dump truck swerved and
landed in a ditch and Aaron had stomped the brake pedal. We were going about 70 or so mph
and when he hit the break the back of the car started to fishtail. We were neck and neck with
Andy's car in the right lane and when the back of the car started to fishtail it hit Andy's car. We
were airborne and when the car reached the ground it flipped five times before finally landing in a
ditch down the road. Andy's car was fine and he pulled onto a road right next to the ditch and got
out running over to us."
By this time Haley only knows what she was told. Apparently she was conscious but
because she was in shock she doesn't remember. Both Aaron and "Squeak" got out with
only bumps and bruises.
"The only thing I vaguely remember is Aaron screaming 'Haley's dead, she's dead!" Haley recalled.
Haley's face was lying in the backseat floorboard of the car. With her sinuses ripped out
and her face caved in, in complete shock, she tried to climb out of the mangled car. The guys ran
over trying to hold her down until the paramedics got there. The paramedics drove Haley to
Onslow Hospital but by the time she got there the doctors realized her injuries were too severe.
She was then airlifted to Pitt Memorial on the ECU campus. Haley had to have 7 reconstruction
surgeries by plastic surgeons from across the state, then another surgery to remove her right eye.
I remember my dad telling me his side of the story a couple of weeks ago. My dad frowned as he
said "I remember standing in the hallway with her doctor and Haley's momma when the doctor
asked us to sign a release form for them to remove her eye. What do you say or do when
someone says they want to take out your daughter's eye?" my dad said getting choked up (though
he tried to cover it with a pitiful laugh). "The doctor told us that the eye that ruptured could stay
in there but (what my dad calls the 'Jealous Eye Effect') if it did then it would start pulling
information and energy from the good eye and her good eye would start to deteriorate.
Eventually she would be completely blind in both eyes. I had no choice. I cried as I signed the
paper." Hearing my dad tell the story had me a bit choked up, too.
When Haley woke up she was doped up on so many painkillers and sedatives (because
she was put into a medically induced coma for a while) my family had to tell the story over and
over again. They later had put the pieces back together of why Haley was the only one hurt. An
amplifier connected to the speakers was in the back of the car and it wasn't bolted down like it
was supposed to be. It sat on the hatchback above the trunk right behind Haley and it became
airborne during the crash, landing on her. When it hit her in the face it broke every single bone
except her forehead. (jaw, nose, cheeks, eye sockets, everything).
Haley said, "I wish you could see the Xray, it was wicked, there was just little pieces everywhere, no
solid bone."
It was actually quite the miracle because as the doctors explained, had the amp hit any
lower it would have decapitated her, if it hit any higher it would have caused so much damage
that she would have been left brain dead. Her face was made up of 13 metal plates, mesh wiring,
and a prosthetic eye. Haley was in the hospital for 2 months (was only released early because her
mom had previous nurse training). She had a tracia and a feeding tube, as well as her jaw wired
shut for 6 months. She couldn't talk for nearly a year. Haley recalled the moment one month after
the crash when she was in the hospital and saw her face for the first time. (This was really hard
for me to hear just because I simply could not handle it if I were her. She's really strong).
"I remember just then being able to get out of bed and there was a little mirror over a
sink across the room." Sandy (our other sister only about 13 at the time) tried to prevent Haley
from looking because she was afraid of her reaction. Peeling open her one good eye, Haley
looked into the tiny mirror at her face that was bruised, stitched, cut, and partially wrapped up. A
face that wasn't hers. The medical bills lasted for years, as did the lawyers. Doctors from all over
the state wanted to see and talk to Haley because she was the first full face reconstruction done in
the area. Her pictures/story are still in the medical textbooks at ECU today.
14 years later Haley's face still bares the scars of that day. We can look back now and laugh at the craziness of it. We even make the one eye jokes (she laughs too, I promise), but the reality of it is, this was devastating. Aaron was forever changed by the damage he did to his best friend. After years and years of drug abuse, he eventually overdosed and died last summer.
This crash literally affected everyone involved. We hear a lot about crashes but never this detailed. I'm in a
club you know as Joco Teen Drivers and though Haley (nor I) was in Johnston County when the crash happened,
we were only a few counties over, Haley was our age.
To think something that life altering can happen to someone younger than me is crazy. Yes, we hear the stories but much like anything we don't care until it happens to us. Racing is bad, seat belts are good, but I don't want to preach
that on deaf ears. This is important and until each of us understand how easy it is to lose our life,
these accidents are not going to go down in number by any means. I hope her story, our story,
reaches some of you. I hope it makes you think twice before making a decision that could cost
your life. Remember that when you're in the car with someone else, their life is now in your
hands. Would you be able to handle the guilt if something happened to your friends or family
while you were behind the wheel? You don’t have to answer that question as long as you stay
responsible both in the driver and passenger seat. Your life can change in the blink of an eye for
better or worse. Don’t take anything for granted, especially life.