Teen shares remarkable survival story after crash throws her from Baltimore bridge

By David Collins

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Battered, bruised and awaiting her fifth surgery on her broken pelvis held together by six pins, Kiersten Fenwick tells 11 news a remarkable tale of survival.

Kiersten Fenwick, 16, was on a fishing trip with her dad, brother and sister over Memorial Day weekend at the time. Kiersten told 11 News she was standing on the bridge when she saw a Chevrolet Trailblazer swerving all over the road, coming directly toward them. So, she closed her eyes and, in a split second, found herself in the Patapsco River.

“It was like those scary movies,” Kiersten told 11 News. “Basically, her car hits the back of my dad’s (truck, and) I’m smashed. My dad’s (truck) bounces off of me. I’m smashed. The next thing you know, I get hit off the bridge.”

She stayed calm and remembered how to float in the water, like her grandmother taught her years ago.

“I swam up … because I was deep in the water, and I couldn’t feel my legs. So, I had to float. At first, I panicked. When I panicked, I realized I went under the water. So, in my mind, I’m telling myself, ‘Don’t panic,'” Kiersten told 11 News.

Kiersten’s father jumped into the water to save her, but when he tried to pull her to shore, they both sank.

“(I) kept screaming, ‘Float, just float. Float, float,'” Kiersten recalled, “I couldn’t teach him how to float, physically. What he was doing was looking at what I was doing.”

She saw her dad go under and thought he had drowned.

“The water is, like, going over my ears, and the waves are pushing me farther away from him,” Kiersten told 11 News. “I heard him scream. OK, my heart is like, ‘He’s alive.’ Then, I heard him scream to other people, ‘Get her, not me.’ (I said) ‘No, get you because you are panicking a lot. You are basically drowning.'”

Kiersten remains hospitalized weeks after the crash, battered and bruised while awaiting her fifth surgery on her broken pelvis.

Baltimore police told 11 News Investigates that the SUV belongs to a Maryland driver who had Virginia license plates. The family said police told them the driver didn’t have insurance and that the SUV had a broken axle. Police wouldn’t confirm those details to 11 News Investigates.

“It was like those scary movies … The next thing you know, I get hit off the bridge.”

As previously reported by 11 News Investigates, vehicle owners who move to Maryland must get a Maryland title, registration and insurance within 60 days. But Virginia allows non-residents to register their vehicles there, unlike in other surrounding states.

According to Baltimore police, the SUV’s driver was not arrested but did receive several citations.

“It is not enough. The damage that happened to Kiersten is going to last a lifetime,” said Tanya Fenwick, Kiersten’s grandmother.

Kiersten is now writing a book about her experience and counting her blessings.

“I’m just sitting there for a long time, asking God to keep me alive and keep floating and keep floating, keep floating, and then, eventually, someone grabbed me,” Kiersten told 11 News.

During the rescue, Kiersten said people on the bridge stole items from her father’s truck, including a cooler and fishing gear. Kiersten said she’s grateful that this tragedy happened to her and not her younger sister.

An online fundraising page was set up to help cover medical care expenses.

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