Anderson County teen reunites with bystander who rescued her after 2022 crash

Yahoo

07-05-2025

MORGAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Three years after nearly losing her life, a teen from Oak Ridge was reunited with the bystanders that came to her rescue.
On May 7, 2022, Madiya McCarley was in the car with some friends. They were driving down Coal Hill Road in Coalfield, when they hydroplaned and crashed.
A few minutes later, Madison Rainey, her mom and her fiancé came upon the crash. They quickly jumped out of the car and sprung into action.
The crash on Coal Hill Rd in May 2022.
The crash on Coal Hill Rd in May 2022.
'I remember they came in and helped me with my seatbelt, and I remember both of them had picked me up and helped me go onto the gravel because I couldn't walk,' Madiya said.
Madison helped pull Madiya and her friends from the car and waited with them until the ambulance arrived. She was recovering in the hospital for two months after the crash. Emergency responders told her she was lucky to have survived.
'I had broke my lumbar 4 in my spine and I had to get it fused together, and I had cut my stomach completely in half so a third of my stomach had died. And I had to get basically a gastric bypass, but I had to get my pyloric sphincter removed, and I got three inches of my colon replaced,' she explained.
Madiya recovering in the hospital.
Madiya recovering in the hospital.
That day has stuck in both of their minds the past three years.
'I remembered them bleeding,' Madison said. 'It traumatized me honestly, that day. It did, because they were younger back then.'
Madiya took to Facebook two weeks ago, making a post in search of the bystanders that helped her. That's how she was reconnected with Madison.
'As soon as I saw the car I remembered immediately,' Madison said. 'I commented and I texted her and I was just like, 'Was a boy driving? Were you trapped in the backseat?' and immediately when she said yes I knew it was us.'
Nearly three years to the date of the crash, Madison was able to find peace in knowing Madiya and her friends were okay, and Madiya was finally able to say thank you.
'I just wanted to thank them because they saved my life that day and I don't know, if people wouldn't have stopped for me, I feel like I wouldn't have been here,' Madiya said.
▶ See more top stories on WATE.com
After the two reconnected via Facebook, they discovered another connection between their families. About 20 years ago, Madiya's uncle was in a crash, and a man stopped to help him. That man was Madison's father, who has since passed away.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.