'I could have died there': Teen saves elderly neighbor using 'Stop The Bleed' training

When Pat Kemery fell off her four-wheeler in June and got trapped under the vehicle, she thought no one would find her in time.

The 81-year-old woman lives on a farm in Blockton, Iowa, about 110 miles southwest of Des Moines and people don’t usually travel along the road where the accident happened. 

She was wearing flip flops, riding side-saddle on a brand new four-wheeler on June 15, which she knows she shouldn’t have done, she told USA TODAY Monday. 

She went down a bank and accidentally hit the throttle with her hand, throwing her off the vehicle.

“The four-wheeler flipped right on top of me,” Kemery said, adding that she was on her stomach, trapped under the vehicle.

Prior to Kemery’s fall, she had seen teenager Weston Drake, a boy who lives on his family’s farm about two miles from hers. He was hauling hay off her field. She wasn’t sure if he’d come by though.

As she lay trapped under the four-wheeler for about 30 minutes, she could only move her arms and started to feel like something was going to cut into her legs. Kemery previously had her knees replaced and now has titanium in them, she said.

“Nobody’s going to find me here,” she thought at the time. 

Then came Drake.

“I remember just coming around the corner and I saw the four-wheeler rolled over,” said Drake, who turned 14 this week. “I didn't quite see Pat yet until I got up there. I finally saw her … She was pinned under the four-wheeler.”

He checked on her to see if he could lift the four-wheeler without hurting her further. She told him to use the forks or pallets on his own tractor to lift the heavy vehicle pinning her to the ground. The pallets are used to move heavy items around a farm, he said.

“I just took them, bumped the four wheeler with them and raised it up enough off her so that she could crawl out from under it,” said Drake.

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Teen relied on 'Stop The Bleeding' training to save neighbor

When Drake found Kemery, her foot was bleeding, which reminded him of the training he had at the beginning of the year called Stop the Bleed.

There, he learned how to treat a stab wound, a bullet wound and really bad scratches, he said. He also learned how to use a tourniquet to stop life-threatening external bleeding.

While Kemern’s injuries weren’t severe enough to require a tourniquet, Drake remembered that his instructor stressed remaining calm during his training. He also remembered that if needed, he could use his belt as a tourniquet to cut off blood circulation to the foot that was bleeding.

“The main thing was just staying calm and getting her out of the situation that she was in,” Drake said.

He called his dad and Kemery’s children were also contacted. Her son ended up taking her to the hospital because getting a ride from an EMT isn’t easy in a rural area like theirs.

“Our town ambulance did not have anybody that’s qualified to drive an (EMT) so if I had to call an ambulance, they would’ve taken a long time to get there,” Kemery said, adding that three of her toes were mangled because she had on flip flops during the accident.

She did a number on her toes and her elbow was in pain too. However, the doctor who treated her said the titanium from her previous knee replacements likely saved them from breaking during the accident.

As she reflected on the fall, Kemery said Drake was a bit shaky but still managed to stay calm.

She said she’s lucky.

“A 13-year-old kid being able to do something like that…he really did a nice job,” she said. “I’m very thankful for him.”

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Bond beyond life-saving rescue

Kemery hired Drake when her husband, Wayne, died in November. He usually takes care of some of her cattle work, as well as mowing, raking and picking up hay. 

He has grown up on a farm his whole life and learned the ropes from his father and his grandfather, he said.

“We've farmed forever so I guess it’s just kind of ran through the family and you’re taught how to do it whenever you’re able to start doing stuff,” he said.

When he’s not farming and jumping into action to save those around him, he attends fairs with livestock and rides four-wheelers with his brother.

His mom, Crystal, said he is a really good kid.

“Life around here is different in the midwest,” she said. “We're a small community so even if Weston wasn't helping Pat pick up her hay and it was somebody else, I think he would’ve done the same thing. I’m just really proud of him.”

Kemery, who Drake saved, said she is doing just fine. She’s the type of person who just gets up and keeps on going, she said.

“I have ridden four-wheelers forever and this four wheeler was a brand new one that had seven hours on it,” she said. “I don't have it anymore. My kids decided I shouldn't drive it.”

She said Drake is very farm-savvy and has been super helpful, both before the accident and after.

“He's a good worker,” she said. “He’s just a young little farmer. I was very lucky because I could have died there.”