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IDAHO FALLS — It's been nearly 2½ years since Emerson Myers walked away from a rollover crash on a Nevada highway that took her mom's life.
It was around 4 p.m. on March 27, 2021, and the then 6-year-old Driggs, Idaho, girl hung upside down in a 2011 Toyota Highlander with a broken wrist. Her mom, Lauren Starcevich, and two other kids in the vehicle lay unconscious on the side of U.S. Highway 95 near Las Vegas.
She and her mom, along with Michael Durmeier of Victor, Idaho, and his two kids, Georgia and Jackson, were headed south when a driver high on opioids, later identified as Tyler Kennedy of Arizona, slammed his 1998 Ford F-150 into the front left side of their vehicle. Kennedy has since pleaded guilty to three counts of DUI and is serving up to 60 years in prison.
The Highlander rolled multiple times. Starcevich and Durmeier's kids were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the vehicle. As it came to a halt, Emerson and Durmeier, who were wearing seat belts, were pinned inside.
In a Zoom conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Emerson, who is now 9, says the incident remains a vivid memory in her mind.
"I remember waking up upside down," Emerson said.
She recalls feeling "dizzy" as she hung in place before managing to unbuckle the seatbelt and crawl out of the broken windshield.
Jackson Durmeier also survived, but he spent months recovering in the hospital.
It was a traumatizing experience that Emerson's dad, Josh Myers, says could have turned out so much worse for his daughter. Though Myers wasn't involved in the crash, he says getting in the car with Emerson gave him anxiety for about a year afterward.
"It was scary to me seeing oncoming cars. It made me worried that something would happen to us," Josh said. "I had her strapped in the back seat so (tight). She never got to ride out of a car seat, and she's still (using) a booster seat."
After another 18 months have gone by, Myers is still cautious behind the wheel but the anxiety is gone. He says they're "just trying to live a simple life and keep on going."
Emerson meets regularly with a therapist to help her deal with the situation. She's busy with lots of extracurricular activities, including gymnastics, softball and playing with her 80-pound golden retriever. She started fourth grade this week.
Myers works as a full-time photographer and has made adjustments so that he's with Emerson every day.
"I … (made) a lot of life changes to make everything work and make sure that I'm always here for her," Myers said.
Emerson is pretty tight-lipped about the crash. Thinking about it and her mom's death makes her sad. She prefers instead to "think about happy things."
"There are times when we'll get quiet, or something will remind (Emerson) of (what happened)," Myers said. "Having her in counseling has helped greatly in giving her an avenue to release things."
Spending time in the outdoors is another thing that's helpful for Emerson. It's something she and her dad enjoy doing together, and he says it's brought them closer together.
"Having experiences with each other and having patience is important. That's definitely a big one, and understanding that what she went through, most people never have to deal with," Myers said.
Though there will likely still be some rough days ahead, Emerson has come a long way. She's grateful her dad is there for her every step of the journey.
"He is really cool. I'm glad that he's my dad," Emerson said.
