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Robin Imbeault's 2004 Jeep Cherokee after the crash on Highway 3 - photo courtesy of Amani Imbeault

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife resident Robin Imbeault, 22, is lucky to be alive, and he knows it.

The husband and father of two young girls was driving back from a two-week vacation in Calgary on Thursday, when he hit a bumpy stretch of a road about halfway between Behchoko and Yellowknife, causing him to lose control and hit a rock face at the side of Highway 3 near kilometre 270.

Robin Imbeault is lucky to be alive after MLA Jackson Lafferty stopped to help, after a devastating crash in Highway 3. - photo courtesy of Amani Imbeault Jackson Lafferty: Being credited for rescuing man after highway traffic accident.

"I ended up going off the road into a ditch, and hitting a rock wall," said Imbeault via phone the next day from his hospital bed in Edmonton.

"The wall was about 10 feet tall and 30 feet wide. When I slammed into that, my jeep flew 80 feet into the bush and landed on the roof."

The impact left Imbeault with two broken ankles, one of which was severely dislocated and 'hanging from his leg," and a broken femur. He was also injured by the airbag in his 2004 Jeep Cherokee, which broke his nose and bruised his face when it inflated.

After his jeep settled, he found himself hanging upside down, strapped in by his seat belt.

Unlocking the seat belt, Imbeault fell on his neck and head, causing two vertebrae in his spine to break. Realizing he was out of view from passing traffic, Imbeault crawled out of the jeep toward the highway.

"At first, it was deep enough dirt that I could stick my hands in and use it to pull myself out of the jeep," said Imbeault.

"I was pretty far from the highway and I had to get seen so someone could help me. When I was digging my hands through the dirt, I realized that they were anthills that I was digging through, so I'm getting covered in ants, blackflies and mosquitoes."

To make matters worse, he was surrounded by thorn bushes. Unable to walk, Imbeault had to use the thorn bushes to pull himself toward the road.

"I'd pull myself three of four inches then pick up my legs because they were really banged up, swollen and messed up," he said.

"I did that for about a half hour and I got about 15 feet from my jeep, just high enough that I could see the top part of the vehicles driving by."

The young driller started to lose hope as he watched 15 to 20 vehicles pass him by.

He tried to get the drivers' attention by throwing rocks and sticks and screaming at them but to no avail.

"The whole time I was thinking about my two kids and my wife," he said, his voice cracking.

"Finally some guy drove by and he had his window open. I threw a stick and just screamed and he looked at me, and looked right in shock when he saw me. I hear his vehicle slow down and turn around and he comes right to me."

The man who finally stopped to help was none other than Jackson Lafferty, Monfwi MLA and minister of the departments of Justice and Education, Culture and Employment.

Lafferty had a satellite phone and was able to call for help.

Unaware of who Lafferty was at the time, Imbeault described his injuries to him and asked to call his father.

"I told him what happened and he gets a pillow and put it underneath my head, and gets a sleeping bag and covers me up and he brushes off all the bugs and ants and the flies and then he goes and gets me a bug net and puts it over me and gets me some water and stayed by me," Imbeault said.

The ambulance arrived 35 minutes after the phone call, and according to Imbeault, Lafferty kept him awake and cleared a path through the thorn bushes so the ambulance could reach them.

Imbeault's injuries will leave him unable to work for three months but he is very thankful and praises Lafferty for saving his life.

"I've messaged him, and almost every member of my family has messaged him," said Lafferty.

"They consider him a hero and I just want to say thank you to him and I'm so thankful. I didn't know who he was. I think my aunt did some research and found out he was an MLA, and he was a pretty important guy. If I can vote for him I definitely will vote for him."

While the Imbeault's family hails him a hero, Lafferty said he just happened to be there at the right time, and was thankful that he could help.

"We're in a unique situation here in the Northwest Territories, where we care for the communities," Lafferty said.

"We care for the people and we share as well, that's what we did, we cared for this individual because he's part of us, he's part of the North."

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