Firefighting community rallies to support young volunteer seriously injured in Monday crash

Bird-in-Hand Fire Company Chief Don Boyer has seen hundreds of crashes in 30 years as a volunteer.

None affected him like the one he responded to about 5 a.m. this Monday, shortly after his son had left for work.

He got a sick feeling when he heard the crash was near their East Lampeter Township home, he said, and arrived to find his 19-year-old son, Jason Boyer, had hit the back of a garbage truck along Route 896. He was seriously injured, but no one else was, according to Don Boyer.

"As any parent would do, I kind of fell apart," he said. "We’re so thankful that he’s here, that he’s living."

He said Wednesday evening that his son was at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital, where he was in surgery for seven hours Tuesday. He lost a lot of blood from a head wound, but was conscious and talking even at the scene. The worst injury was a shattered vertebrae; he can move his arms but has no feeling from the chest down.

There's still a lot of swelling, Don Boyer said, and the hope is that after it subsides, with rehabilitation his son will be able to walk again. But it's too soon to know for sure.

Jason Boyer is expected to be discharged to a rehabilitation hospital Monday, and will likely spend at least several months there, Don Boyer said: "It’s definitely going to be a long road ahead."

As young as he is, Jason Boyer already has strong connections to several local fire companies, according to his father. He's been volunteering since he was 14, was pursuing training as an EMT, and considered making a career of emergency services.

Don Boyer called the support they're receiving from the community "overwhelming."

In addition to a GoFundMe and "Boyer Strong" T-shirt fundraiser to help with any expenses insurance doesn't cover, he said, people are mowing their yard and have offered help with any adjustments that may need to be made to their home.

And then there's prayer, which he called "our biggest thing."

"We’re used to being on the other side, helping and trying to help other people," he said. "We’ve been getting a huge outpouring, from our community, from friends, from people that have never met us."

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Crédito: HEATHER STAUFFER | Staff Writer