The Nevada Sagebrush

Firefighters pull the car out of Wood’s and Palmer’s home. Photo courtesy of the Sparks Fire Department

After a car crashed through Kristin Palmer’s  house early in the morning of Oct. 20, not only was her world shaken, but her running career was put in jeopardy.

Palmer, a 21-year-old redshirt junior at Nevada, along with her boyfriend, Trent Wood, woke to a massive white sedan perched on top of them as they lay in their bed.

The couple was trapped under the car for more than 40 minutes as firefighters struggled to free them from the unrelenting weight of the car.

Palmer still remembers the horrors of that night and the miraculous rescue vividly.

“Where my head was positioned, if (the firefighters) would have moved the car any more forward, it would have crushed my face, so they had to basically move it up and back,” said Palmer, who runs cross country and competes in track and field for the Wolf Pack.

But Palmer and Wood both made it out of their former Sparks home alive. While Wood escaped with just a few bumps and bruises, Palmer got the worst of it, suffering second-degree burns on her right leg.

She said the healing process will keep her from running track during the indoor season next year, which begins in mid-January and goes until  mid-March.

“It was really painful for about three weeks and now it’s getting to the point where it’s itching and healing so that’s good,” Palmer said. “But the doctors told me that I can’t run on it until it’s healed over so it’ll take probably another month or two.”

“Right now, I can’t run. It’s going to affect my track season a lot. I’m supposed to be back training the first week of January and I probably won’t be able to. Hopefully I’ll be able to do outdoor track, but indoor is out of the question.”

Besides the accident taking a toll on Palmer’s athletic career, both Wood and Palmer have felt the effects of this tragedy in their schoolwork.

Wood, a 22-year-old senior, said he had to miss a lot of classes and work furiously to get back on track. It’s been more difficult for Palmer.

“I’ve had to drop a class because of this,” she admitted. “Since it’s affected my sleep, it’s been hard to even get up and go to class. It was a traumatic experience and I go through flashbacks and anxiety. It’s been extremely hard. My teachers have been awesome throughout this whole thing, but it’s still going to take me a while to get back on track.”

Amidst the disaster of that ill-fated night, the couple has received ample support from friends, the community and even strangers.

“There was a girl from Sweden who sent Kristin a message on Facebook saying she saw her on the news and offered her support,” Wood said.

Wood added that the entire ordeal has served as a measuring stick of “who your true friends are.” For Palmer, a “true friend” came in the form of a well-wishing teammate.

“My teammate Jenifer McEntire immediately opened up her arms to me,” Palmer said. “Her and her roommates have basically babied me for the past couple of weeks. It was weird because before that, her and I were not that close. But she’s just that kind of person who will help in any situation. I’m really grateful she came along.”

Juan López can be reached at jlopez@nevadasagebrush.com.

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