After 11 surgeries to have his arm reattached at the elbow following a crash, West Lanham Hills Volunteer Firefighter Ryan Emmons is on the road to recovery.
News4's Erika Gonzalez spoke exclusively with Emmons during a Loyal Order of Moose ceremony, when he was awarded for his service.
Emmons was in the back of a fire truck responding to a crash on the Outer Loop of the Beltway Jan. 30.
"It was going to be just the typical car crash in the middle of the night," Emmons said.
Another truck reached the scene first and informed Emmons’s crew, which approached from the Inner Loop, that they weren’t needed. Emmons’s crew was leaving when it was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer and pushed about 180 feet, smashing a concrete barrier and flipping the fire truck on its side.
"I think our driver knew we were going to get hit a split second right before and he kind of yelled and I think I just figured we were going to get hit by a car but the impact was a lot greater than a car," Emmons said.
Six other people, including two other firefighters, were also injured in the crash. They've since been released from the hospital.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
To this day, Emmons does not know what severed his arm, but he is thankful to his fellow firefighters for helping save his life. They immediately iced Emmons' severed limb in time to get him to a hospital.
While he has movement in his fingers and wrist, he still has no feeling.
The West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department has set up a fund for Emmons.
RELATED:
