On Sept. 29, 2023, Terrie Tudor and a friend were driving on Route 40 near Teutopolis, when a tanker truck carrying anhydrous ammonia crashed.
Five people were killed as approximately half of the 7,500 gallons of ammonia leaked out.
“I shouldn’t have been able to have another birthday,” the retired teacher from Missouri told WCIA News.
“I just grabbed a sweatshirt and put it over my face because I couldn’t breathe,” Tudor described.
Suddenly, the cavalry arrived in the form of Effingham firefighters John Stroud, Ben Siemer and Johnathon Paholke.
Stroud heard a noise coming from the car, so they rushed over. They quickly helped Tudor start breathing again and rushed her off to the waiting ambulance.
“Next thing I remember is coming out of a coma,” Tudor reflected.
After spending nine weeks, in three different hospitals, and having five surgeries on her eyes alone, Tudor had a chance to meet her heroes.
“Just the ability to say thank you. I know it’s their job, but it’s my life,” she said.
