Annalise Freling, Buffalo native and Sweet Buffalo contributor was traveling to Pinehurst, N.C. this past weekend to visit family and watch her nephew play in his high school football playoff game. She and her mother were about 10 minutes away from Pinecrest High School when they witnessed a horrific accident as it unfolded. A teenager was riding his moped and was struck by a vehicle, which left the scene of the crash.
“My mom was driving and thank God she was able to maneuver the car just right,” Freling said. “We stoped within inches from the guardrail and only a few feet away from the young man who was laying on the ground. The car behind us told my mom and I that they didn’t know how their car stopped. They were sure they were going to rear-end our vehicle.”
Freling made a 911 call and had to climb out of the drivers side door. Within moments, first responders arrived on the scene and helped the boy into the ambulance. Because the car stopped so quickly, many contents inside of her car became scattered, including some Sweet Buffalo Rocks that she intended to hide at the Veteran’s Day Parade in Southern Pines.
“I saw the rock on the floor, and I knew I had to give it to him” Freling said. “It had the message of ‘Thanking my lucky stars now,’ which I definitely was. I was shook and praying for the young man.”
The boys mom, Jennifer Mary Baldwin, posted a heartfelt message on the Sweet Buffalo Rocks Facebook groups’ page.
“Last Friday night in North Carolina my son was riding his scooter/moped when someone hit him,” Baldwin Wrote. “The person was speeding, came up behind him did not slow down, hit him then left the scene. Miraculously other traffic stopped and no one hit him. He went over the car that hit his moped but again by some miracle he walked away, no broken bones, no lacerations, barely any road rash. Of course he was in pain and extremely sore but we are beyond lucky that he is alive non the less not seriously injured. That night someone gave the ems a rock to give to him. I wanted to thank whoever it was that left this for him. He will be keeping it forever as a reminder of how incredibly lucky we are.”
Lucky indeed. We’re so happy to hear that everyone involved is OK.