Bride Still in Wedding Dress Calms Victim in Car Crash

Imagine your wedding day, the blissful feeling you have when the event is over and you feel like you’re on cloud nine. Then all of a sudden that comes to a screeching halt and you have to go into a different mindset. That is exactly what happened to Rachel Taylor. Rachel Taylor, 22, and her husband Calvin, 23, had just left their wedding about 8:30 pm on Father’s Day and were heading to their new townhome when they witnessed an accident on the Fifth Avenue Bridge over Interstate 494 in St. Paul.

A car and a van crashed. The drivers were sorting things out after the crash when suddenly a black Chevy Tahoe came through the intersection and ran into the other vehicles, creating a second crash. Tamara Peterson was standing between the two vehicles at the time of the second crash. She had just arrived at the scene to see about her son who was in the first crash.

According to Twin Cities.com Pioneer Press, Rachel saw a couple of people dragging a woman over to the side of the road and she had a gash in her leg. Still, in her wedding dress, Rachel Taylor ran over to the woman and helped her to the side of the road and she held her, trying to keep her calm while waiting for the paramedics. The woman was Tamara Peterson. In nursing school, Taylor had worked with women in labor and had learned a few techniques on how to keep them calm.

When the paramedics arrived, Rachel explained to Peterson what they were doing to her. By translating their medical terminology it reassured Peterson that she was going to ok. Rachel’s husband, Calvin, snapped a picture of his new wife and posted it on Facebook, calling her “My Rockstar of a bride”.

I can only imagine how frazzled the newlyweds felt when that was all said and done. Whoever thinks their wedding day will end that way? Rachel said that she and her husband feel like they were in the right place at the right time and they believe that was due to God.

I just talked to her. I said You’re so strong. You’re so brave. I’m so proud of you. - Rachel Taylor

Peterson has a GoFundMe page to help with medical bills. She is home recovering and said she hopes to meet the Taylors again one day and “possibly become forever friends.”

She was awesome and helped save my life by keeping me focused, and calm. She certainly is a gifted angel and chose the right career path. - Tamara Peterson