LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - A Fort Simpson resident was lucky to walk away with only a sore leg after she flipped her car on Highway 1 about 30 minutes west of the Highway 3 junction.

Ruby Ryan, who works at the Nahanni Inn, was just starting her vacation and was on her way to Saskatoon to pick up her son on Jan. 11 when she lost control of her vehicle.

Ruby Ryan never expected this would be the first photograph she'd take on vacation, but she considers herself lucky to have walked away from the vehicle which flipped end-over-end before landing on its roof. - John Curran/NNSL photo

"It was terrifying," she said. "I still don't know how it happened ... I must have hit some ice."

Ryan's car ended up on its roof on the far side of the road - and she was left dangling upside down for what she figures was about 10 minutes.

"I was so dazed," she said. "I didn't know up from down."

That is when Hay River's Floyd Hopkins happened upon the scene on his way to work on a communications tower for Northwestel.

Thanks to his 30 years as a volunteer firefighter in his town and countless first aid and first responder courses, Hopkins knew what to do and sprang into action. After confirming that Ryan had no major injuries, he got her out of the car and into the warmth of his truck.

"She wasn't in shock so that was good," he said. "I've seen too many accidents over the years."

Examining the marks Ryan's car left in the snow, he said there was a time when such an accident could have easily resulted in a fatality. Before seatbelts gained such widespread acceptance, the driver would often be ejected from the vehicle during incidents where a car flipped end-over-end.

"Then the car would end up on top of them," he said. "If she hadn't been wearing her seatbelt she would have been pretty banged up at the very least."

While Hopkins played down his actions, his modesty couldn't stop Ryan from thanking him.

"My hero," she said repeatedly.

The highway was in good shape and visibility was clear at the time of her accident, both Ryan and Hopkins agreed.

"I wasn't even going 80 km/h when it happened," she said. "That's what bugs me the most."

In fact, she said most of her drive up until that point had been at around 60 km/h.

While many people involved in such an accident on the first day of their vacation may opt to head straight home and cancel their plans, that wasn't an option for Ryan.

After Adam Desrosiers arrived on the scene with a Hay River Esso tow truck to collect her wreck, she got a ride to the bus station with Hopkins.

"I need to get my son in Saskatchewan and take him to Disneyland," she said. "Last June he graduated Grade 12 and this trip is his present."

The two had hoped to celebrate in California much sooner, but their plans were already scuttled more than once previously.

"We ran into so many snags trying to get our passports," she said. "There's no way we're not going now."