Latest news with #Coalfield
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Anderson County teen reunites with bystander who rescued her after 2022 crash
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 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.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Coalfield made history at TSSAA girls state basketball tournament with Class 1A quarterfinal win
MURFREESBORO − Coalfield may not have been the most likely choice to make history at the TSSAA girls basketball state tournament. But that didn't stop the Yellow Jackets from accomplishing just that Wednesday in the Class 1A state quarterfinals at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center. Coalfield knocked off defending state runner-up Moore County, 54-41, to advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history. Yellow Jackets coach Josh Wright accomplished the feat in his first year at the helm. Coalfield had only been to state twice (2005, 2010) and lost by double digits in the quarterfinal each time. "We got close a couple of years ago," Wright said. "But for us to make it and get over the hump with our first win is a great, great feeling. I'm so proud of these girls." Coalfield (31-5) will play Van Buren County ― a 68-32 winner over Memphis Middle College ― at 9:30 a.m. Friday in the semifinals. Coalfield wasn't picked by many to upend a veteran Moore County (24-4) squad, especially considering Coalfield entered the game with two freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup. But it may have been youth that worked to the Yellow Jackets' advantage. LIVE UPDATES: TSSAA girls basketball state tournament 2025: Shelby Higgins leads Richland to halftime lead "We just play together," said Coalfield sophomore guard Alexis Hammock, who scored 13 points in the win. "Honestly, it doesn't matter how old we are or age or anything. We're a young team but we play like we're old. It's our first year being together, but we play like we've been together forever." Coalfield's small community of less than 3,000 people rallied around the team before heading to Murfreesboro. HOW TO WATCH: How to watch TSSAA girls basketball state tournament "It's just a great place," said Wright, a 1999 Coalfield graduate who was part of the 1998 state championship baseball team. "In about 36 hours we raised enough money to come down here for the whole week, feed the girls and get them down here. It was unbelievable. I don't know how many calls and text messages we got for good luck, even from other communities around our area. It means so much." Mattie Beard led Coalfield with 14 points. Lilly-Claire Lowe added 12 points. The Yellow Jackets led 23-18 at halftime and built the advantage to 44-32 by the end of the third. TOP PLAYERS: Top players entering TSSAA girls basketball state tournament Miss Basketball finalist Ellie Graham led Moore County with 13 points. The Raiders shot just 29% from the field. Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@ and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA basketball girls state tournament: Coalfield advances to semifinal
