The Character Of A Submariner

Here's a story that made the local media that I first looked at as a "this is so sad" type of thing -- a man stops on the Interstate to help a crash victim, and gets hit by another car driving down the road. Today, this story became more personal to me when I found out the injured Good Samaritan is a Submariner. Excerpts from the story:

Police say a 46-year old Pendleton-area man sustained critical injuries Monday afternoon when he was struck by an automobile while assisting at a crash scene on Interstate 84 near the John Day River.
Oregon State Police Sergeant Pat Shortt says Monday afternoon at 3:23 PM, a white 2006 Ford Focus driven by 47-year old Juana Fortier of Portland, was eastbound on Interstate 84 near milepost 116 when it hit a spot of black ice, slid off of the south side of the freeway and overturned.
Shortt says that despite sustaining minor injuries, Fortier was able to exit her vehicle. Another eastbound motorist, 46-year old Nels Hadden of Pendleton, stopped to help Fortier.
"At approximately 3:43 p.m. Hadden was standing on the shoulder of the freeway when an eastbound blue 2001 Volkswagen Beetle driven by 18-year old Elizabeth Murray of Pendleton, lost control and slid off the south side of the freeway striking Hadden."

A former shipmate of Mr. Hadden reported this to me:

He is really in bad shape....his wife has been providing updates...I can pass them on if you like. At this point...I think he will make it...but he will never be the same.
I think this is newsworthy because it reflects on the character of a submariner. Someone who is willing to help anyone out...in rough weather...when he could have just driven on with his own business...and in this case he paid a tough price. Nels was an enlisted Sonarman, just a regular guy. He was a hard worker who would give you the shirt off his back, I stood a lot of watches with him as his sonar supervisor.

Here's the Oregon State Police accident report. Please keep Nels Hadden and his family in your prayers. I'll pass on any additional information as it comes available.

Update 0740 05 Feb: Updates on Mr. Hadden's condition can be found here and here. Nel's old shipmate provided the following update on what people can do to help:

There are a few things that anyone can do to help. The number one thing would be prayer and just goodwill to Nels, his wife Betsy and the rest of the family. The second would be to spread the word to let people know about his sacrifice.

The doctors estimate that Nels has received at least 50 units of blood. He made a one-man assault on the platelet supply at the American Red Cross. You can help by donating blood at your local Red Cross or traveling blood drive.

There are also some financial needs as well. You can to go into any US Bank and tell the teller you would like to donate to the Nels W. Hadden Beneficiary Donation Account. If you have any difficulty with them finding the account, let them know the account was established on 1/30/09. The account has been set up to accept wire transfers.

Also, if you would like to send the family a card, (flowers aren't allowed in ICU and there isn't any room in the waiting room) you can mail them to:

Legacy Emanuel Hospital
Nels Hadden
WWICU Room 13
2801 N. Gantenbein
Portland, Oregon, 97227

I really like the idea of going down and donating blood -- that helps everyone.