God's Peace in Midst of Heart-Rending Tragedy

No one knows for sure why the young man decided to attempt to pass multiple vehicles on a blind curve leading up to the two-lane bridge on Route 97 in Waterford Township, Pennsylvania, but his decision ended up costing him his life, took the life of another, and seriously injured three more young people. It also placed Scott and Stephanie Crowell in a never-anticipated and challenging role as on-the-scene grief counselors.

The Crowells, who are endorsed sports and community chaplains through AG U.S. Missions’ Chaplaincy Ministries, have been involved in ministry for decades. In 2019, the couple became chaplains, with a focus on wrestling teams, while also teaching at a local Christian high school. But on July 12, they entered an unimaginable scene.

THE ACCIDENT

It was about 9:30 p.m. when a familiar noise caught the Crowells’ attention. Living just off the two-lane Route 97 highway and before the bridge, hearing “fender benders” and accidents coming off of the curve wasn’t that unusual. In fact, Scott can recall at least nine times over the past 24 years of living in the home that vehicles ended up in their front yard.

However, this time something about the sound seemed different. When Stephanie peered out the window, she could already see flames shooting up from the embankment next to the bridge.

Within minutes the Crowells had called in the accident and had made their way onto the scene, well before first responders had the opportunity to arrive.

“The driver thrown from the oncoming vehicle was lying on the pavement, covered in glass, and Scott went over to him,” Stephanie says. “A young man, who works for the farmer across the street from us, had a fire extinguisher and was hurrying to the driver and the car that was on fire.”

“I checked the one car, the girl in the front seat had been hurt very badly and was no longer living,” Scott recalls. “One of the young people in the backseat had a dislocated hip and couldn’t move, another had a broken femur, and a third had gotten out of the car and was in visible shock, wandering around and saying things that didn’t make much sense.”

DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

As Stephanie remained with the young man on the ground, he began to question why the other driver was on his side of the road and why this had happened.

“He then began repeatedly asking for his phone,” Stephanie recalls. “I looked and there was one right next to him. He said it wasn’t his. So, I asked him if there was someone he wanted me to call — he told me his parents. I spoke to his dad, but had to leave a message for his mom.”

Stephanie says that during this time, the phone next to the young man started to ring and kept on ringing.

“I asked the fire chief (who knew them) if it was ok for me to answer the phone, and he gave me permission . . . so I answered it. It was the mother of the girl who had died,” Stephanie says, pausing at the difficult memory. “I told her who I was, that her daughter had been in an accident, and where it was.”

When the young man’s father arrived, the Crowells recall that he was visibly shaken. The paramedics had already taken his son to a hospital in Erie, about 25 minutes away. They spoke to him, asking him to take a moment to talk and recover his emotions before he attempted the drive.

The father needed a listening ear and started to pour out his story . . . he had just gotten his kids back and had started to raise them again and everything was good. He too had the “why” questions of God.

THE PEACE OF PRAYER

As the Crowells listened to the father talk through his emotions and unanswerable questions, they gently walked through God’s love with him.

“He actually started the conversation, sharing who he was and even what the Lord was doing in his life,” Stephanie says. “Then we prayed with him . . . and we still keep in contact with him.”

When the parents of the deceased young woman arrived, the Crowells were at their side when the police officer shared that their daughter had passed away.

“They just embraced us and held on and wept,” Stephanie says.

“They were emotionally so distraught and (emotionally) very frail,” Scott says. “They too were asking ‘Why?’ We listened and allowed them to grieve, then we cried and prayed together.”

One person facing trauma that could have been easy to overlook was the young man who attempted to save the driver who had gone over the side of the bridge.

“While he was down there spraying the car, he couldn’t get very close, and then there was an explosion . . . there wasn’t much he could do,” Scott says. “We followed up with him the next day, texted him several times over the next three weeks, and then we just sat and talked for several hours on our front porch and he stayed for supper. He’s a Christian and his dad is a pastor. He was struggling with the feeling that he could have done more, how he couldn’t get the driver out of the car, but there really wasn’t anything more he could have done. We prayed with him and he seemed spiritually lighter from unpacking the load.”

Prayer was the constant in all of the Crowells’ encounters. And they both agree, as they prayed for people, the peace of God was evident.

“Whenever we prayed with someone, it was almost tangible — a peace came over them. You could see the shift in them,” Scott says. “It did not take the pain away, but you could see the change. We were just honored to be there.”

WHY DID GOD ALLOW THIS?

“Why?” was the question asked repeatedly that tragic July night.

“The balancing between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man is a challenge,” Scott says. “Working through what God allows and the freedom God gives us — it’s a challenge to understand, but it may be something we won’t fully know until we meet Him face to face.”

“It (Why?) is the hardest question,” Stephanie agrees. “We live in Adam’s world, a fallen world, and people make decisions we can’t control. But when we know Jesus, He’s our Comforter — we can and need to walk through tragedy with Him. When we realize Jesus loves us unconditionally, it changes how we view things.”

And the Crowells’ words ring true as in the midst of this heart-rending tragedy, God’s peace and comfort were experienced.

“This has been an opportunity for us to love people through some of the most difficult times of their lives,” Scott acknowledges.

“I love that the Lord allows us an opportunity to be present with someone through the hard things,” Stephanie adds. “As a Christian, you’re never off duty — you never know when you’ll be presented with a divine opportunity to speak the comfort and love of Christ into someone’s life.”