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Anna Claire Little recently returned to the campus of Troy University with a deep sense of gratitude after walking away from a horrifying car crash virtually unscathed.
The video Little’s father took of boyfriend Taylor Jones’ mangled Hyundai Azera sitting in the junkyard drove the point even further home. The fact that Little needs only to take off one week of golf practice as a precaution is nothing short of miraculous. Jones underwent surgery on his arm and is recovering in an Atlanta hospital.
“It puts things in a totally different perspective,” said Little as she drove back to campus Wednesday night. “We are so thankful to be here.”
Little, a 19-year-old sophomore from Auburn, Ala., went home for the weekend to watch her youngest brother compete in a baseball tournament in nearby LaGrange, Ga. When bad weather canceled the second game, Little and Jones began the 45-minute trek south down I-85 to Auburn.
In West Point, Ga., a car traveling northbound on the interstate hydroplaned into southbound traffic, resulting in a five-car pileup. Jones couldn’t see what was up ahead and swerved after the car in front of him slammed on the brakes. When the Azera’s brakes locked up, the car slid across the wet pavement and slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler.
Troy golfer Anna Claire Little and boyfriend Taylor Jones. (Anna Claire Little)
“It cut the left side of his car completely off,” said Little.
The Azera then ricocheted down a hill and crashed into a fence. At first, Little didn’t think her boyfriend survived the accident.
“I was screaming and shaking him and he was not responding,” she said.
Little struggled to get her wet phone to work and called 9-1-1 in hysterics. She looked up to see a woman coming toward her down the hill. Lo and behold it was a teacher from her elementary school who happened to be driving by. She found the familiar face calming. At this point Jones started to move in the car and the next two people who stopped to help happened to be a nurse and a paramedic.
“I don’t believe that’s a coincidence,” said the faithful Little.
After being physically cleared by the hospital, Little drove with her parents to Atlanta to be with Jones.
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Little said many in the Trojans community surrounded them in prayer. The women’s basketball team sent a note and a football coach reached out. Her teammates listened.
Little will miss several days of qualifying for the first event of the season, but she’s not really concerned about that. Mostly she wanted to get back to campus to give them all a hug.
“We don’t know why something like this has to happen,” said Little. “It might just be so that people know that God does still perform miracles.”
