Olivia man Tom Einerson back home after serious injuries from Missouri truck accident
Last week KLGR reported about how an Olivia man, 58 year old Thomas Einerson, was injured in an accident in Missouri early on the morning of Friday, Jan. 28.
Einerson, with his wife Heather, operates the Swingin E Ranch off of Highway 71 south of Olivia. On Jan. 28, he was driving a Freightliner semi on Interstate 35 north of Eagleville, Missouri, with Heather dozing in the sleeping compartment. A little after four a.m., a tire came off a southbound truck, crossed the median, and struck the grill of Einerson’s truck head-on.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, Einerson’s truck ran off the west side of the road, crossed the median, and came to rest partially blocking the southbound lanes. Einerson’s truck was totaled.
People have been asking, so this past Saturday, Einerson gave KLGR an update on his condition.
Einerson said that on that Friday morning he saw the other semi headed in his direction, and noted it didn’t appear to have a front tire.
“It popped out about 10 feet in front of me,” he said. “The tire came up through the hood. pushed the firewall in, and snapped the leg bones clean.”
With two suddenly broken legs, Einerson was unable to brake his truck. He was unable to stop the truck with the dash board all-but-destroyed, but believes the fuel line was broken when the truck ended up on the other side of the road.
Einerson said, “I was scared to death. We were sitting on the shoulder with the oncoming traffic coming at us, and no one would stop.”
Finally a UPS driver parked with his flashers on to partially block traffic until emergency crews arrived. An air ambulance transported Einerson to UnityPoint Health of Des Moines, Iowa. No injuries were reported for the driver of the other truck, 38-year-old Montora Johnson of Waterloo, Iowa.
Einerson returned home to the Olivia area on Thursday, Feb. 3, with two broken legs and a broken ankle. He currently has rods in both legs from the knees to the ankles.
As for getting back out and active, he said, “It’s going to be a long way out. Right now I’m confined to the house, with lots of ice packs and Ace bandages. There were lots of sutures; because of the compound fractures, I don’t really like to look.”
He finished by saying to the community, “Thank you for all the prayers. There were a lot of angels. I don’t know how to say it — we’re just lucky to be here.”
