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By Kent Larsen
LDS Missionary Injured at Memorial Day Church Picnic
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK -- An LDS missionary was hit by a car at a
Memorial Day Church event yesterday, confirmed the New York Rochester
Mission office, and remains in the hospital recovering from his
injuries. Elder Tyler Fordham of Colorado had been playing basketball
with some of the kids attending the picnic when a mini van that had
just backed out of a driveway hit him as he tried to cross a road
and, according to eye witnesses, ran over him.
Elder Fordham has been taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in
Rochester, where doctors determined that he had suffered abrasions
from being dragged on the ground and a broken toe. He will also
undergo a CAT scan today to determine if he has other, internal
injuries that haven't been detected in the hospital's external
examinations. But as far as doctors can tell, Elder Fordham's
injuries are not severe.
A report from ward member Christopher A. Young, who witnessed the
incident, says that Elder Fordham is serving in the Rochester 4th
branch of the Rochester Stake. Young says that the driver of the mini
van backed up out of a driveway and pulled forward, leading Elder
Fordham to believe he could continue across the street. But the van
backed up a second time, hitting the Elder.
Young says he returned to the scene after calling for an ambulance
and discovered that the van had left the scene of the accident,
traveling another ten houses down the road, where it backed up into
another house, literally hitting the building. While Young suspects
that the driver may have been intoxicated, he says police he talked
to didn't seem disposed to press charges, preferring to handle the
incident as an accident.
Elder Fordham was well cared for immediately after the accident.
Since he had been attending a Church function, he was soon surrounded
by members who gave him first aid and a priesthood blessing,
according to Young. An ambulance and police arrived within minutes
and Elder Fordham was taken to the hospital.
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