Woman finds courage in a crisis

Danielle MacMurchy/Tracy Press
Thursday, 01 February 2007

A Tracy woman overcame fear to help save the life of a man badly injured in a traffic accident. By Danielle MacMurchy


Glenn Moore/Tracy Press - LIFESAVER:Monique Jugy found herself as a first responder at the scene of a grisly motorcycle accident two weeks ago. With quick action, the Tracy Convalescent Hospital nurse helped control the bleeding of the severely injured rider long enough for firefighters to reach the scene.
Until two weeks ago, Monique Jugy was unsure if she was the type of person to rise to the occasion in a crisis.

Not anymore.

On Jan. 19, Jugy drove home from her fourth day of long shifts as a nurse at Tracy Convalescent Hospital when she came across a motorcycle accident. She soon learned that she was brave enough to help when seconds count.

Like most Friday evenings, Jugy met traffic on South Tracy Boulevard during her drive home. As the traffic persisted, Jugy rolled down her window and heard desperate screams. As she approached the intersection at Loma Verde Drive, Jugy saw two victims of a motorcycle accident rolling on the pavement of Tracy Boulevard.

For just a second, Jugy admits she thought, “I don’t want to stop. What can I do”

But she quickly overcame her fear, pulled over her car, grabbed a sheet from her trunk and walked toward Charles Borders, 39, and his teenage niece.

“I had no splint, no bandages, no equipment,” she added. “I was scared, but I just took a deep breath.”

She wrapped the sheet around Borders’ leg, which was nearly severed, and tried to keep him conscious.

“You feel like, is this really happening” she said. “I was just hoping he wouldn’t die.”

She added that it felt like forever until the firefighters arrived, but Tracy police officer Vince Weyant said it took crews from Station 97 about two minutes to respond.

Jugy, who said she felt like she had tunnel vision, later found out Borders was side swiped by a teenage driver.

The girl who hit Borders was stopped at the traffic light at the intersection, waiting to turn south onto Tracy Boulevard, said Weyant, who was on the scene. The driver later told Weyant she didn’t see Borders’ motorcycle, which was headed northbound. As she turned into the motorcycle, she crushed Borders’ leg. He and his niece were both wearing helmets.

“She (Jugy) definitely did the right thing and helped save him from further injuries,” Weyant said. “If you witness a collision, you should at least stop and call emergency personnel. It helps us to have witnesses for a collision.”

Borders was airlifted to Doctors Hospital in Modesto, where his leg was amputated. His niece was treated at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital for a broken left wrist and cuts on her right knee and foot.

Borders’ family members visited Jugy earlier this week to express their appreciation.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Borders’ brother Henry Borders told Jugy.

“I’ve already been paid by knowing your brother is alive,” she said. “For the first time, I realized I really saved someone’s life.”

To contact reporter Danielle MacMurchy, call 830-4221 or e-mail Danielle@tracypress.com.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it