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Southern Alberta paramedic responds to own daughter's fatal collision

An Airdrie-area paramedic is grieving the death of her teenage daughter after responding to the very motor vehicle collision that claimed the 17-year-old's life last week.
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The Erickson family is grieving the death of 17-year-old Montana (right), who passed away following a motor vehicle collision west of Airdrie on Nov. 15. Montana's mother Jayme (middle) is a paramedic and responded to the call.

An Airdrie-area paramedic is grieving the death of her teenage daughter after responding to the very motor vehicle collision that claimed the 17-year-old's life last week.

On Nov. 15, Airdrie Rural RCMP and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crews responded to a head-on collision involving two vehicles at the intersection of Big Hill Springs Road and Range Road 24, west of Airdrie.

According to a press release from the detachment, one vehicle was occupied by two female youths. The driver was transported to a Calgary hospital by EMS in stable condition, while the passenger was transported to a Calgary hospital via STARS air ambulance in life threatening condition. The driver of the second vehicle sustained minor injuries.

As of writing, a cause for the collision had not been determined and was still under investigation.

Five days after the incident, local paramedic Jayme Erickson stated via social media that she was among the first-response personnel who responded to the collision. In a heartbreaking post, she revealed that she later found out the girl who was seriously injured in the collision was her own 17-year-old daughter, Montana. In the tragic update, Erickson revealed that Montana succumbed to her injuries while in hospital. 

"My worst nightmare as a paramedic has come true," she stated in the post, which a spokesperson for the family has provided permission for media outlets to cite.

"It is with a heavy heart and profound, unimaginable sadness that I must write this to inform my friends and family of the sudden and horrific loss of my daughter, Montana. We are overwhelmed with grief and absolutely gutted. The pain I am feeling is like no pain I have ever felt, it is indescribable."

Erickson's post recounted the incident on Nov. 15, when she and her partner were dispatched to the collision. She said she tended to the critically injured patient, doing what she could to help her while firefighters extricated her from the vehicle.  

"STARS air ambulance took over patient care once we got the patient out and flew her to [Foothills Medical Centre]," Erickson said. "My shift was over and I went home."

But minutes after arriving home, Erickson said her doorbell rang, and her "life was changed forever" when RCMP officers informed her that her daughter had been in an accident. To her horror, she quickly discovered the incident she had just responded to involved Montana.

"The critically injured patient I had just attended to, was my own flesh and blood," Erickson said. "My only child. My mini-me. My daughter, Montana. Her injures were so horrific I did not even recognize her."

According to Erickson, she was taken to Foothills Medical Centre to see her daughter, where she was informed Montana's injuries were "not compatible with life."

"I cannot help but be angry for the short amount of time I was given with her," Erickson wrote. "[Seventeen] years was not long enough. Although I am thankful for the 17 years I had with her, I am shattered and left wondering. What would you have become my baby girl? Who would you have been? I will never see you graduate and walk across the stage, I will never see you get married, I will never know who you would have been."

According to previous AirdrieToday coverage, Montana Dobry was a competitive swimmer who lived in between Airdrie and Balzac. She was a member of the Airdrie-based Nose Creek Swim Association (NCSA) and competed at the junior national swimming championships in 2019. At that meet, her coaches called her an up-and-comer in the sport.

A GoFundMe to support the Ericksons in their time of grief and assist with funeral costs can be found at gofundme.com/f/the-erickson-family. As of writing, the campaign had garnered $35,900 of a targeted $40,000. 

"This family has collectively served as Advanced Care Paramedics for close to 30 years," stated the page. "They are selfless, kind and so loving! As Sean and Jayme begin to rebuild a life without their beloved daughter we want to be there to help them through and ease any financial stress they could possibly imagine.

"These will be hard times to wade and we want their future free of financial hardship - whether its taking time to heal, building their beloved farm, or helping Montana’s legacy live on and have this to fall back on years down the road. This is an endless healing journey."

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