School and fire department officials Wednesday saluted a heroic high school student whose quick thinking and calm actions during a highway emergency may have saved lives.
Reaghan Monahan, 15, a sophomore at Tinley Park High School, said she’s relieved everyone was OK after a harrowing ordeal on Interstate 80/294.
“It was a very hard day,” she told a small assembly of family members, officials and media gathered outside the school. “I’m just glad my mom’s here and I’m here.”
Reaghan was riding in the front passenger seat of the family’s Subaru Ascent SUV at about 6:20 p.m. Oct. 13. Her mother, Liz Monahan, was driving west on I-80 when she suddenly passed out and slumped over against the driver’s side door.
The two were returning to Tinley Park after Reaghan played for her school in a girls volleyball match against Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing. She opted not to ride on the bus with the rest of the team.
“I went back with my mom,” she said. “I always think about that, or if I was a few years younger, not knowing how to drive a car.”
Tom Farr, a firefighter/paramedic with the South Holland Fire Department, said Liz Monahan suffered a medical emergency, a seizure, causing her to become unresponsive.
“Mrs. Monahan’s body became so rigid during the medical emergency that her right foot pressed the gas pedal to the floor, obviously making the vehicle increase speed,” Farr said.
Imagine the terror of tearing down the expressway as a passenger in a vehicle with an unresponsive driver. Some may have frozen with panic, but Reaghan leaped into action.
“Reaghan, although terrified of the events unfolding, had the courage and smarts to take control of the wheel first in an attempt to avoid striking any other vehicles on the expressway,” Farr said.
Reaghan steered the SUV as it careened down the highway at high speed. She quickly thought about how she could slow down the speeding Subaru.
“Reaghan found difficulty in getting her mom’s foot off the gas pedal, so she then thought to move the driver’s seat back to remove her mom’s foot from the pedal to slow the vehicle down,” Farr said.
While this was happening, other motorists were calling 911 to report a reckless motorist. Farr said South Holland firefighter/paramedics responded to a report of an accident with injuries near mile marker 1 on northbound I-294, which is near the Chicago Southland Lincoln Oasis Travel Plaza.
“Upon arrival crews found two vehicles on the shoulder of the expressway with very minor damage,” Farr said.
It could have been a lot worse, officials said. Not only did mother and daughter escape serious injury, but Reaghan’s driving skills helped avoid a severe crash that could have injured other motorists.
An off-duty firefighter in his personal vehicle stopped and offered aid before emergency vehicles arrived, Reaghan said.
Reaghan said she had driven many hours with parental supervision. She has a learner’s permit and is working to meet requirements needed to obtain a driver’s license.
She recalled how she managed to gain control of the vehicle and bring it to a stop when her mother was unresponsive.
“She was in the corner of the car and I kind of got on top of her,” Reaghan said. “I was able to get to the side, the shoulder.”
Tinley Park High School Principal Theresa Nolan thanked representatives of Top Driver driving school for attending Wednesday morning’s ceremony outside the high school. Reaghan was scheduled to have her final driving lesson later in the day, she said.
“I think she should pass,” Nolan said.
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.
