Caleb Richey's Portfolio Resume

Dothan Eagle Hometown heroes - Ray of Hope Award article 2014

 

“Local brothers hailed as heroes after rushing to scene of wreck

Sep 21, 2014

 

Heroes Conner (left) and Caleb Richey received The Ray of Hope Award from the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce for heroic actions at a vehicle accident in November. Conner Richey, an airman in the Air Guard, also received the Alabama Air Guard State Heroism Medal.

 

On a rainy Tuesday in November 2013, the Richey brothers were all set to leave Enterprise for school at Auburn University.

 

But Conner Richey, then 21, had received a call from his Alabama Air Guard unit in Dothan, asking him to drop by and sign some papers in the morning. So, he and his brother, Caleb, then 19, decided to stay the night at their parents’ home in Enterprise, just off Highway 167.

 

It was a decision that may have saved lives.

 

Instead of heading back to Auburn that day, the brothers ended up rushing barefoot to help two men injured in a multiple-vehicle wreck just outside their home. One of those men turned out to be their father, Tim Richey.

 

The acts of heroism recently won the Richey brothers the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce’s Ray of Hope Award. Conner Richey also was awarded the Alabama Air Guard State Heroism Medal.

 

The brothers had been lounging in front of the TV when they heard what sounded like thunder or a gun shot outside. But when they went to check, they realized it was a wreck.

 

A dump truck had hit a pickup truck that was stopped to turn. The pickup truck was forced into oncoming traffic, and a passenger car was hit head on.

 

The brothers, who had served as Eagle Scouts and knew a few first-aid techniques, ran to the scene in their bare feet.

 

Conner Richey, who was also trained in medical techniques through the Air Guard, began performing life-saving measures on the sole occupant of the car while his brother called 911.

 

“It looked like the dashboard was in his stomach,” Conner Richey said of the man in the car. “He had multiple breaks, and his left arm was almost completely severed at the elbow.”

 

They first used their hands to stop the bleeding, and then a shirt. They also grabbed the trauma kits they’d been given by their father, Tim, when they graduated from high school.

 

While the Richeys worked on the man in the car, another man – who identified himself as a soldier or a former soldier-- stopped at the scene to help the driver of the pickup truck.

 

After the man in the car was stabilized, Caleb Richey ran to help the man in the truck. The truck had been turned on its side, and only the undercarriage was exposed to the Richeys.

 

When Caleb Richey went to the window of the truck, he realized it was his father, Tim.

 

“What are you doing here?” Caleb asked. Then he yelled to his brother: “Conner! That’s our dad in the truck!”

 

Tim Richey had broken his back during the accident, but was otherwise conscious and alert. The soldier had jumped in through the window of the truck to help him, before rushing over to help the brothers with the man in the car.

 

These days, both Tim Richey and the occupant of the other vehicle are doing well, the brothers said during a phone call from Auburn this week. They said their dad even went waterskiing a few weeks ago.

 

But the best part is that they were given the chance to help the man who had always taught them to help others.

 

“My dad taught us that if you see somebody in need of help, you help,” said Conner Richey.

 

Caleb Richey added: “It’s hard to explain the way our father is. When someone’s on the side of the road and needs help, he’s always going to stop.”

 

In the confusion, the brothers never got the name of the man who helped them at the scene of the wreck.

 

“We really want to say thank you to the man who helped us and helped our dad,” Caleb Richey said. “We’re still looking for him.”