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By Joe Fryer, KARE 11 News
Two teenagers critically injured in a June motorcycle accident were on hand Tuesday to honor the woman who saved their lives.
Jeff Eagon and Stephanie Fixell were injured just hours before their high school graduation. They were riding a motorcycle near Northdale and Crooked Lake boulevards in Coon Rapids when.... a car turned right in front of them.
"What I remember about the accident was pretty much nothing at all," Eagon says.
While Eagon doesn't remember his head crashing through the windshield, Dawn Stewart remembers everything. She was approaching the intersection just as the accident happened.
"I saw two bodies fly up in the air," Stewart says.
The off-duty paramedic quickly pulled up to the scene and blocked off the intersection. She noticed Fixell was breathing and had a pulse, so she moved to Eagon.
"He was very critical, had massive bleeding," Stewart says.
She used her hand and knee to control his neck bleeding.
"With trauma, especially head trauma, even though they're unconscious, they will fight you," Stewart says. "It took two firefighters to hold him down so I could stop the bleeding."
Eagon was taken by ambulance to one hospital, while Fixell was airlifted to another hospital.
"All of us at the scene did not believe they would make it through the night," Stewart recalls.
But they did. Both of them.
Eagon was in an induced coma for four days. When he woke up, he didn't know where he was or what had happened. But he amazed many by leaving the hospital just six days after the accident.
Eagon credits his karate instructor and wrestling coach with giving him the mental and physical strength to persevere.
"If there was one guy that laying in bed, fighting for his life, could actually pull it off, it would be Jeff," says Bob Adams, Eagon's high school wrestling coach.
Above all, Eagon credits Stewart.
"I tell her thank you every time I see her, but it's never enough," he says.
"I'm just glad I was in the right place at the right time," Stewart says. "After getting to know him and his family, maybe it was just meant to be."
Stewart isn't just Eagon's guardian angel. She's Fixell's hero, too.
"I can't explain how much appreciation I have for Dawn," Fixell says. "I needed to just see her and let her know how much I feel for her."
Friends and relatives packed the Coon Rapids City Council chambers Tuesday night to see the mayor give Stewart an award.
"You truly made a difference in saving the lives of two high school seniors on their graduation day," said mayor Tim Howe.
Stewart received a standing ovation as she returned to her seat. Without hesitation, Eagon embraced her.
"I think we'll always be attached in a special way," she says. "We'll always have a special bond."
Both Fixell and Eagon plan to attend college this fall. Eagon will head to Mankato and Fixell will go to Saint Thomas.
(Copyright 2006 by KARE 11. All Rights Reserved.)
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