UHP trooper struck in Sardine Canyon calls his survival a miracle
Mar 27, 2018, 8:50 PM | Updated: 9:24 pm
CACHE COUNTY – Sergeant Cade Brenchley has four broken ribs, and a broken shoulder blade, but he considers that good news, compared to what could have happened to him Sunday.
Sgt. Cade Brenchley
“It could have taken me away from my kids,” Sgt. Brenchley said. “We watched the video, and by all means it probably should have.”
Sgt. Brenchley was struck by a sliding car as he walked up to an accident scene, along Highway 91 in Sardine Canyon, near Wellsville. Graphic dashcam video shows him being launched into the air like a rag doll. He landed up against the other parked car. He doesn’t remember much.
“Everything was black. (It) felt like a weird dream,” Sgt. Brenchley recalled. “I woke up and saw snow, and was lying there. It knocked the wind out of me. I was gasping for breath. I was right up against a car, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘I’ve been hit. I just got hit.'”
Lindsay Brenchley
In the dashcam video, multiple passers-by can be seen stopping to offer help. Sgt. Brenchley says friends and family were among them, including three paramedics, who were his cousins.
Meantime, Sgt. Brenchley’s wife, Lindsay and their four children got word of the accident, with few details.
“I didn’t know what to do with myself. I couldn’t believe that it was true,” Lindsay Brenchley said. “I beat him to the hospital. I didn’t know what condition he was in.”
Fourteen-year-old Alexandra Brenchley shared similar feelings.
Alexandra Brenchley
“I could not believe it,” she added. “Most of the rest of the kids were just pretty shocked, and I was crying.”
The couple’s 8-year-old son, Asa shared that same concern.
“You just barely got news that your dad was hit by a car, and you don’t know if he’s going to live or not,” he said. “You don’t know what to do. You wish it never happened.”
In what the family considers a miracle, Sgt. Brenchley is expected to make a full recovery. He said the accident and dashcam video should serve as a strong warning, for drivers to take extra care.
Asa Brenchley
“When there’s snow on the road, you just need to check your ego, and slow down,” he said. “I watched a couple of times, and I truly believe that miracles do happen.”
Sgt. Brenchley also adds that he does not hold any ill will towards the driver.
“She’s not to be vilified. She made a mistake, and I think she learned from it,” he said. “If anybody should be upset, it should be me or my family, but we’re not.”
