Mansfield Hospital Surgery Tech To Be Honored for Heroic Actions, Jumped Into Action After Witnessing Truck Crash

An OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital surgery technician is being honored at an upcoming Columbus Crew game for her brave actions.

Just over a month ago, Taylor Sexton hit the road before it was light out to head to Myrtle Beach for a softball tournament on Memorial Day Weekend. She was called into Mansfield Hospital late the night before to respond to a trauma case, so she was tired, to say the least. But before she could stop to get her morning coffee, she witnessed something that jolted her awake.

“I was driving down I-71 South for about ten minutes, so, about ten miles south of Mansfield, and I saw a car hit the guard rail heading north,” said Sexton.

Sexton pulled over to the side of the highway and called 911. Without thinking, she ran across the highway to check on the driver.

“I got him out of his car,” said Sexton. “He was fine, just kind of shaken up. But every car that was flying by on I-71 was hitting pieces of his car and they were flying everywhere.”

The driver explained to Sexton he fell asleep at the wheel. She suggested they move to her car to avoid getting hit by any pieces of car. But according to Sexton, they never had time to.

“About the time I said that, a semi came and hit a part of his car and the guardrail,” said Sexton. “I think he overcorrected, and instead of going into the median, he pulled to the right towards the ditch, which happened to be the bridge and the guardrail.”

According to Sexton, the semi-truck soared off I-71, clearing State Route 546 below.

“It was just like a bright flash,” said Sexton. “And it was just smoking really bad.”

Once again, Sexton jumped into action. She ran towards the wreck, calling 911 to alert them to the second crash. She ended up having to clear a fence and standing water before she could reach the truck on its side. Sexton climbed into the truck through the windshield that had peeled off to get to the driver.

“He was scared,” said Sexton. “He struggled moving because he did something to his hip so he couldn't move very well.”

Sexton immediately helped the driver out of his truck and began checking him out. On top of his hip injury, she says he had a big bump on the side of his head, most likely from hitting it on his window.

“I was worried about his head, because if his hip was broken, I didn’t want to injure that more than it already was” said Sexton. “But we had to get him out of his truck because it was smoking really bad and he said he just filled his tank up with gas.”

Sexton stayed with the driver until EMS arrived to take him to Mansfield Hospital. Due to HIPAA regulations, she wasn’t able to find out his condition. But Sexton says one month later, she still thinks about him often.

“I hope he’s ok,” she said.

Sexton hopes the driver may come across this story and reach out to let her know how he’s doing. Whether she ever hears from him or not, she feels confident knowing she did everything she could to help him during his terrifying moments.

OhioHealth will honor Sexton at an upcoming Columbus Crew game for her brave actions. The match will be on August 23 at 7:30 p.m.