A potentially life-saving detail in a selfie was overlooked by three friends.
It’s common for a group of friends to become so engrossed in taking a picture that they essentially ignore everything else. Unfortunately, the repercussions are rarely as severe as when three Utah girls died under incredibly unfortunate circumstances.
A few minutes from Spanish Fork, in 2011, teenagers Essa Ricker, Kelsea Webster, and Kelsea’s younger sister Savannah went past the Covered Bridge Canyon crossing, causing a ruckus in the neighborhood.
Later, Sgt. Spencer Cannon, the Utah County sheriff, would describe how the three companions paused to wave at engineers on the Utah Railway train without realizing that a Union Pacific carrier was approaching from the other direction.
Essa, Kelsea, and Savannah were all hit by the two trains, which were only three to four feet apart. While Savannah was taken to the hospital for life-saving care, Essea and Kelsea were thought to have died instantly.
She had tragically suffered severe brain damage. Life support was removed after medical professionals told her distraught parents she would not recover.
The mother of Savannah and Kelsea, Jayna Webster, revealed at the time, “We spoke to the doctors today and they informed us that Savvy’s brain injuries were too great.”
“Savannah will not be able to recuperate any further, after having done everything they could. We will continue to keep her on life support until the end of the day, but for the time being, we must bid farewell to an angel who lived among us.
Savannah posted an unsettling selfie to Facebook that was shot immediately before the three were hit by the train.
“It’s amazing to be standing right next to a train, haha!” the teenager wrote.
The image in question depicts a train approaching, its bright yellow lights burning ferociously, which is even more unsettling. Unfortunately, it is thought that the girls were not able to hear the train’s horn booming.
“They were in their own little world,” stated John Anderson, a train conductor at the time.
John said, “As we approached, we watched in horror.” “They were visible to us for about 12 seconds before they vanished and the train carried on.”
John leaped onto the tracks as soon as the train stopped and hurried over to the females. The first two girls he approached had no pulse, he soon discovered.
Savannah was still alive but seriously hurt.
The conductor recounted, “I assured her that everything would be alright, and she became a little more at ease.”
“I really believed she would make it, and I hoped she would.”
