(Cushing, Okla.) After deciding to “take a walk” during an argument with a friend, 18 year old Jesse Eychner found himself at the bottom of the Euchee Creek bridge on Highway 33 east of Cushing Saturday evening.
Eychner told KUSH he had asked his friend to “let him out” of the car he was riding in because he didn’t want to argue anymore.
As he approached Euchee Creek bridge, Eychner said he took to “walking on the railing” in order to get out of the way of traffic. After going a ways, he lost his footing and started falling into the culvert below.
“I tried to grab on to something,” he said. “I didn’t want to break my back, so I tried to make sure I’d land on my feet or legs.”
Landing at the bottom, Eychner said he laid there for “about 30 minutes” before deciding he needed to do something to get himself back up to the road.
“I knew if I didn’t do something – no one would be able to find me,” he continued. Crawling to the top, Eychner was able to get himself back up to the railing he’d fallen from earlier. Frustrated as he watched car after car go by, he tried throwing rocks as they passed to try to get someone’s attention.
Finally, a car stopped. Eychner described the couple as a “balding, heavier-set man in his late 30s or 40s” and a woman “with dark hair.”
“The man got out and asked if I was ok – and I told him I thought I’d broken something,” he said. “He asked me if I could stand, but when I tried, I collapsed.”
After practically carrying Eychner to the car, the couple drove him to the emergency room at Hillcrest Hospital Cushing – then left.
Test results determined Eychner would need to see a neurologist, so he was transported to a Tulsa hospital where he is recuperating with a broken back.
“I’m only supposed to be in here 2 or 3 weeks,” he said. “Hopefully.”
In the meantime, Eychner would like to find out who the man and woman are that helped him that night.
“I just want to thank them myself,” he said.
Anyone with information to help this young man find these “Good Samaritans” may contact KUSH Radio at 918-225-0922 or email [email protected]
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