WEST JORDAN, Utah – Around 8:30 p.m. Friday, a bicyclist found a teenage boy lying unresponsive on the side of the road, convulsing from a seizure. Sixteen-year-old Jacob Churchill had crashed while riding his longboard along the Mountain View Corridor at 7800 South in West Jordan.
“He really could have been brain-dead by the end of the night, if they didn't find him,” his sister Briana Churchill said.
The cyclist promptly called 911. Jacob was taken to a nearby hospital, then taken by Life Flight to Primary Children’s Hospital in serious condition.
“Paramedics say that was the last biker on the trail that night and my brother was very lucky because, if it would have been minutes later, he would not have made it,” his other older sister Taylor Rodriquez said.
Jacob is one of 11 children. His two sisters, Taylor and Briana, said the family would be devastated to lose him. They said they’re grateful the cyclist was at the right place at the right time, but they were never able to meet their brother’s good Samaritan, and they’re hoping to make that happen.
“You’re a hero to my family, more than you will know,” Rodriquez said.
“You saved one of the 11 children, we would all be lost without him,” Churchill added.
His sisters said Jacob is talking and eating again. Doctors are looking into whether he suffered serious brain damage, but his family said he’s fighting and recovering faster than they expected.
“He was actually really upset when he woke up because he wasn’t awake during the helicopter ride,” Briana said. “[He] loves stuff like that.”
Jacob's sisters say they just want to find the person who saved their brother’s life and thank them. Anyone with information can contact FOX 13 News by e-mailing news@fox13now.com or calling our news desk at (801) 536-1313.
The family has also set up a GoFundMe account to help with medical bills and Jacob’s recovery.
