B.C.-based 'Alberta Angels' say they did what any person would do
Lien Yeung | CBC News | Posted: January 11, 2016 1:50 AM | Last Updated: January 11, 2016
Kelowna's Craig Monley and Elaine Methot took care of 2 American strangers following a major accident
The previously dubbed "Alberta Angels," who helped a Florida couple after a devastating motorcycle crash in August 2015, say the attention they've received after a social media search campaign for them has been "a bit much."
Craig Monley and Elaine Methot, who have now been identified as Kelowna, B.C., residents, were cruising down the open plains in Wyoming six months ago in their motorhome when a scene they remember like a movie unfolded before their eyes.
Monley said he saw a motorcycle coming towards them as they crested a hill.
Riders, Jeri and Jeff Hamilton from Florida, swerved and "bounced" from left to right.
Then, "in a split second," they watched as the Hamiltons crashed.
'I thought they were dead'
"One person went flying closer towards to the ditch. The other person was thrown in front of the bike and then the bike rolled over him," said Monley as he described the scene from his home in Kelowna on Sunday.
"The way that thing went down, I thought they were dead, or at least something bad."
Monley said he immediately pulled his vehicle over, grabbed his first aid kit and rushed out to help with his partner, Methot.
"When we went up to see Jeri, she had lost a large chunk of the inside flesh of her arm and it was laying on the ground. Her knees were really badly gouged out," recalled Methot.
Jeri Hamilton's husband was in even worse shape — his nose was completely crushed.
"He looked like he had been in some kind of grinder," Monley said.
"He helmet was all shaved. So was the side of his face and his nose. There were pieces of jeans and skin ... he looked a mess."
The B.C. couple applied compresses, soothed the injured riders, gave them water and protected them from the blistering heat with umbrellas while they waited for further help.
They even collected the Hamiltons' personal belongings, like medicine and eye glasses, before sending them off with paramedics.
Unnecessary attention
Methot and her partner, who are both motorcycle riders themselves, said their decision to stop and help that night didn't require much thinking.
"As one human to another, you just had to stop."
Since the accident — which was caused by a blown rear tire — the Hamiltons tried desperately find Monley and Methot to thank them.
The Good Samaritans were believed to be from Alberta. After a social media campaign and an old-fashioned phone tree, the two couples finally connected on Saturday night.
Methot said the four of them "yapped for just about two hours" on the phone like old friends, sharing stories from the accident to their kids.
However, the B.C. pair, who previously avoided platforms like Facebook, has found the ensuing media attention all "a little much."
"We didn't do anything that any other person wouldn't have done," said Methot.
There are now plans underway for the couples to reunite at a motorcycle rally in Sturgis, S.D., later this summer.