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PARK CITY — Multiple people are calling it a miracle that a 9-year-old Utah boy is alive after he became trapped in a truck that slid into a reservoir.
Three people who helped save the young Paxton Knight said they were not supposed to be there at that time, but inconveniences and bad weather changed their plans to put them in the "right place" to use their training and make a significant difference.
On Aug. 22, the truck Paxton Knight was in while his family was loading kayaks rolled back into the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir in Summit County. He and two other children were in the car as it was submerged in the water.
Two-year-old Briana was saved by her grandfather, Brandon Haskell, who was able to quickly pull her from the truck as it was going under the water. The other 9-year-old was able to get out on his own, but Paxton was stuck.
Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez recognized four life-saving first responders on Saturday for helping to save Paxton Knight and his sister Briana, including Haskell; Joseph Donnell, who dove into the water seven times before finding Paxton; and Fionna Pierce and Chance Peterson, who did CPR and helped keep Paxton alive once he was brought to shore.
"He is a miracle among us ladies and gentlemen. This is a story that is so special. They were the right people at the right time to do what they needed to do to save this young man, and not only them — it was Paxton's fighting spirit," Martinez said.
He said because of these people, Paxton will be able to live a long life, and that the community is lucky to have him.
Martinez said Paxton arrived at the hospital in extremely critical condition, and he was released from the hospital on Thursday, about a week and a half later.
Paxton was all smiles as he hugged his heroes and family, posed for photos and tossed a baseball around at the award ceremony — less than two weeks after he almost lost his life.
Paxton's grandma, Rondi Noerring, said she was not with the family at the reservoir but she rushed to the hospital on Monday night and was the first one to see Paxton. She said it was the worst day of her life.
Noerring said she wasn't expecting him to recover so soon, but he was a fighter and is "back to himself." She said it is nothing short of a miracle.
"I think there is a reason for everything. For people to be where they're supposed to be is just a miracle. If they weren't there, he probably wouldn't have survived this," she said. "It took every single one of them and their part to help him survive. I think it was all meant to be, I mean, every little part of the story is just amazing. Just a miracle."
Noerring said those who rescued Paxton will be part of the family and said they are Paxton's guardian angels. She said they are planning a BBQ together.
Help in the water
When Paxton arrived at the awards ceremony, he was greeted with a hug from Donnell, who called Paxton a "rock star," and said he loved him and encouraged him to stay strong. It was clear the two have a close relationship, even though they haven't known each other long.
Donnell said he met Paxton at the hospital a week ago, and brought him a fishing pole and a Winter Olympics badge he got while working at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
He said he is very proud of others who were there, including Paxton for fighting so hard and not giving up.
"I could not be happier. Because if the outcome would have been different, I'll be honest, I would have been a wreck," Donnell said. "You know, I was an emergency responder for 24-plus years and I saw a lot of stuff that didn't turn out like this. So I'm just praising God that it worked out like it did. It's the perfect ending to, you know, a bad situation, really."
Donell said he and his family had planned to go up to Smith Morehouse Reservoir later that fateful day, but came earlier because of poor weather in the forecast. A storm kicking up at just the right time brought him back to the marina just in time.
"When I saw the truck starting to go into the water. I was right there," he said.
He recalled there was chaos — people yelling and screaming — and he knew there were children in the vehicle. When he heard the father say there was still a boy in the car, on the rear passenger side by an open door, he stepped into action.
Donnell described diving down toward the truck multiple times, finding murky water so he couldn't see, locked doors, and a window he couldn't break by punching. Eventually he reached Paxton floating up against the front windshield. He held Paxton on his back and back-kicked out of the car so he could swim to the surface.
He said over 24 years as a park ranger and emergency responder prepared him to be a hero for Paxton. Smith and Morehouse Reservoir was one of the locations he patrolled as a ranger. He had never dived into an underwater vehicle though, which was concerning at the time, but didn't hold him back.
"I knew what I had to do, and I knew God put me there for a reason and I had to do it," Donnell said.
Donnell said he estimates Paxton was underwater about 10 minutes while he took seven dives down to find him — he said he never considered giving up.
"There was no way I was going to leave him in the truck and go back to shore. I couldn't have done it, couldn't have done it, not an option," he said.
When he got out of the water with Paxton, the boy was not breathing and was blue. Donnell said they both had very low body temperatures. Luckily Pierce, a nurse, was there to help. Donnell said he stayed there and helped a little bit with breaths during the ongoing CPR.
Help on the shore
Peterson said they weren't supposed to be at the reservoir that day, as well, as a popped tire the day before halted their plans and led them to come up the canyon for a drive that Monday.
"It's coincidences that just happened that put us in the right place at the right time," Peterson said.
Pierce, who was with Peterson and had CPR training as a nurse, said there were a number of inconveniences that, at the time, were a pain, but those inconveniences were the reason they were there to help. She said she believes there was a reason they were all there at the same time, and thanked the others for their help.
Brian Bevacqua, an emergency medical technician with Summit County, said Paxton had a pulse within a minute of the time they arrived at the scene, which was extremely surprising. He said the quality of CPR from the bystanders was incredible.
"They don't go that way very often," he said. "For being underwater for as long as he was, it's honestly a miracle."
Bevacqua said the helicopter arrived less than a minute after they did and he got in the helicopter with Paxton to take him to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.
After being an EMT for 10 years, he said medical personnel can do a lot to get people to the hospital, but without people stepping up to help, they don't always have outcomes like this one. He said it is because of Donnell, Pierce and Peterson that Paxton survived.
Bevacqua said they were pretty worried about whether Paxton would survive once they left him at the hospital, and they were shocked and in tears when they received a photo of him standing up.
"The fact that he's throwing a baseball around the field this soon is, I mean, just as a medical provider, we can't explain it," he said.
Bevacqua encouraged everyone to take a CPR class, and said CPR saves lives because it keeps blood pumping and will increase the odds of survival. Helping someone to breathe, he said, won't ever make things worse and trained people should not hesitate to do it.
The EMT said he wouldn't ever encourage someone to dive in and put their life in danger to save someone, but the underwater rescue is the reason that Paxton is still alive.
And Bevacqua agreed, saying the worst thing for first responders is leaving a scene, after a few hours, when they still haven't found a body. He was grateful that in this instance — because of these people — there was a patient ready when they arrived, and that CPR had already been happening to help get Paxton breathing on his own.
