Carlin and Beth Witt
Stuart, VA

Carlin and Beth Witt are both alive today thanks to the Level I Trauma Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Mother Beth and daughter Carlin were passengers in the family mini-van going 60 when it was struck head-on north of Charlotte. Beth's mother was killed in the crash. Two people in the other car died. Carlin was airlifted to the Medical Center. After preliminary treatment at a local hospital, Beth was transported here as well. Both suffered life-threatening internal injuries.

"I'd always heard that the Medical Center is the place to go if you are seriously injured or ill," said Beth.

Expert surgical and medical care brought Beth and Carlin through their ordeal. There was so much interest and concern about the Witts' well being from their family, friends and neighbors that the Medical Center's public relations office even helped them get news back home.

Carlin's dad, Kelly, was driving the van. He recalls the chaos of the scene and how helpless he felt while his family was suffering.

"We were so fortunate to have access to some of the best pediatric trauma surgeons in the country," he said. Kelly never left the hospital during his daughter's two-and-a-half week stay. He learned to interpret all the displays of the high-tech machinery in the intensive care unit. "My sister told me I was becoming an intensive care techno-nerd!"

The Witts will never take a Saturday night drive for granted.

"I'm in sales and travel a large territory," said Kelly, "and now when I'm on the road and things get a little tense or anxious or I notice someone driving a little too fast or carelessly, I think about the accident. Now I know how quickly it can happen."