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God put us there to be with Brittany, Md. couple says
By Ed Runyan
FOWLER
A Maryland husband and wife visiting Trumbull County the day Brittany Szwedko was fatally injured by a hit-and-run driver say they believe God put them in a position to help the young woman in the minutes after the accident.
On Feb. 27, Ed Thompson, his wife, Sally, and a few young relatives turned onto Ridge Road from state Route 305 a little after noon. The accident had just happened, and Ricky Bryant Jr. of Cortland was waving his arms to alert the Thompsons to stop.
Bryant asked the couple to call 911 and stay with Szwedko so Bryant and his family could catch up to the driver who had hit her.
“We said of course we would help her,” Sally said.
Sally called 911 and handed the phone to Ed, and then Sally knelt next to Szwedko, 27, of Cortland, a jogger who apparently was walking at the time she was struck.
“I held her hand and told her, ‘Keep breathing. Keep breathing,’” Sally said. Sally then began to pray for Szwedko and continued to talk to her.
There was nothing the Thompsons could do for Szwedko’s injuries.
After giving the 911 operator the address for the accident, Ed knelt next to Szwedko and did the only other thing he could: “I was praying for her,” he said. “Brittany was hurt so badly. I just kept praying and asking for a miracle,” Ed said last week by telephone.
Sally took her great-nieces home since they were waiting in the car.
Another man and woman arrived, and the woman took a place beside Brittany and continued to encourage her, Ed said. The woman also brought blankets, “and she covered Brittany because it was cold that day,” Ed said.
“I just kept praying and asking for a miracle,” Ed said. “We’d never seen anyone in that kind of condition before.”
For a time, Ed directed traffic to make sure no other accidents occurred while they waited for police and ambulance personnel to arrive.
“After the EMTs took Brittany, I asked [the other couple] if we could hold hands and pray, and we did,” Ed said.
The Thompsons continue to pray for the Szwedko family, Ed said.
The Bryants were able to catch up to the accused hit-and-run driver, Russell G. Lauer III, 43, of Cortland, after driving at high speed for 1.4 miles to reach Lauer, accident investigators said.
Eventually, the Bryants used their vehicle to block Lauer from going any farther. Bryant got the keys from Lauer and forced him to stay put until police arrived.
Lauer has remained in the Trumbull County Jail since two days after the accident. He’s charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, leaving the scene of an accident and a driving-lane violation.
His next hearing in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court is Aug. 29.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol reported that Lauer had alcohol and the drug oxycodone in his blood. A crash investigator said Lauer was slurring his words as he was being interviewed and repeatedly fell asleep.
Bryant told investigators Lauer’s car was “swerving and leaving the roadway” before it struck Szwedko in the grassy area beside the road. Lauer’s car left the roadway for about 100 feet, investigators said.
Thompson said it’s a miracle he and his wife even drove down Ridge Road that day.
They would have stayed on state Route 305 on their way to Fowler for a birthday party except that they got a call asking if they would stop in Cortland and pick up another child.
Ed turned onto Ridge to get to Cortland.
“I can’t explain how God put us there to be with Brittany that day. There was a reason for us to be there,” Ed said.
“I’m glad we were there to help her,” Sally added.
The experience is something the Thompsons will never forget.
One thing was the determination they saw in the face of Ricky Bryant.
“When he came up to our car, he was so adamant about catching him,” Sally said. “He said he just witnessed a car hitting a woman and [it] took off,” she said.
Ed says learning that Szwedko died a few days later and that Lauer had been in trouble in the past for drunken driving deepened their sadness.
“It took a toll on us,” Ed said. “When we heard she passed away, it was tough.”