Redmond teen, dad thankful two guardian angels came to her rescue

A 16-year-old Redmond girl whose car left the O’Neil Highway west of Prineville Monday morning and flipped upside down in an irrigation canal was home later in the day, bruised but safe, and thankful for two passing motorists who came to her rescue — and may have saved her life.

Oregon State Police troopers and emergency personnel responded shortly before 8 a.m. to the report of a car that crashed into an irrigation canal on state Highway 370 (the O’Neil Highway) about six miles west of Prineville in Crook County, said OSP Capt. Bill Fugate.

An investigation found that the teen, Hayley Fast, was driving a 2003 Ford Taurus heading east on the highway when it drifted off the road and onto the shoulder, Fugate said.

She tried to bring the car back onto the road but lost control, crossing both lanes of travel. The car left the north side of the highway and rolled over, landing upside-down in an irrigation canal that had about a foot and a half of water running in it.

Two other motorists stopped and quickly began efforts to free the driver from the car. Fugate said they had to recline the driver’s seat and use a knife to cut the seat belt and free her.

The teen was taken by private car to a nearby hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The girl’s father, Denis Fast, credited the quick measures by the two motorists who stopped with saving his daughter from drowning. Fugate also said the trooper on scene said the teen would have drowned if they hadn’t stepped in to assist.

Hayley and her father spoke with NewsChannel 21 Monday evening about the horrific accident. Both fear she would have drowned, especially if it had happened after dark.

Asked what she thought might have happened if the two passing motorists hadn’t stopped, Hayley replied: “I probably would have drowned, honestly.”

Hayley said she went to switch the radio station, and when she looked up, she was too far off the road. She then over-corrected her steering and drifted into the canal.

“I didn’t think i was looking down for too long . It honestly surprised me,” Hayley said. “It went straight across the road and into the tall grass. It flipped into the water and skidded into the water.”

“I remember it flipping — it flipped hard and fast, and then all of a sudden, water washed in everywhere,” Hayley recalled.

The teen went to undo her seat belt, but it was locked; which left her fighting for her life.

“I just pushed up enough so I could get my mouth over the water enough to breathe,” she recalled.

When she thought she was just minutes from death, the unthinkable happened. Two drivers pulled off the road and rushed into the canal to rescue her.

Steve Anderson, of Powell Butte, one of the pair, described how he saw just enough to prompt him to stop.

“I just saw a cloud of dust, and then a big splash of water,” Anderson said. So I slowed down, and then when I got closer, I saw the car upside-down in the ditch.”

Anderson and fellow rescuer Shane Reynolds of Prineville pushed back the driver’s seat and used a knife to cut Hayley out from her seat belt.

Hayley recalled, “He had to hold my head up out of the water when he was cutting my seat belt because I couldn’t do it.”

Hayley’s father, Denis Fast, rushed to the crash scene and is thankful for her daughter’s rescuers.

“We just thank the Lord and the good Samaritans that stopped.” Fast said. “When I got there, Hayley was sitting in a woman’s car. It was very chilly — everyone who was wet was very cold.”

Hayley, who went to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries, said she grateful for her rescuers, but Anderson said he’s no hero.

“I believe God put me where he needed me to help her, and that he sure had his hand of protection on her today.”

Hayley Fast also said she learned how dangerous distracted driving can be, and feels lucky to be alive.

Her father learned of the crash from a parental control feature on his daughter’s phone. Fast was alerted as soon as 911 was dialed from Hayley’s cellphone, and he recommends the system for anyone with teenagers.