15 months after head-on crash in Beaver, airman, family still feeling effects

Composite photo, with background showing wreckage of a Toyota 4Runner involved in a head-on crash in Beaver, Utah on Oct. 11, 2020. Inset image is an undated photo of Jacob Tomlin, his wife Erin and their son Lawson taken during Tomlin's hospital stay in St. George, Utah. | Photo courtesy of Jacob Tomlin and Erin Palma, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — An Air Force staff sergeant injured in a head-on collision in Beaver more than a year ago is still recovering from the effects of the crash, described by his wife as “life-changing.”

A heavily damaged blue Toyota 4Runner at the scene of a head-on collision near 600 South Main, Beaver, Utah, Oct. 11, 2020 | File photo courtesy of Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News / Cedar City News

As previously reported in St. George News / Cedar City News, the incident happened the afternoon of Oct. 11, 2020 near 600 South Main Street in Beaver, when the driver of a northbound black Nissan Armada was attempting to turn left and reportedly failed to yield to a blue Toyota 4Runner that was heading south.

The driver of the Toyota was 26-year-old Jacob Tomlin, who had his young son Lawson in the back seat, said Erin Palma, who is Tomlin’s wife and Lawson’s mother.

The family was in the process of moving from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana to Edwards Air Force Base in California when the collision occurred. 

Palma, who was driving their other vehicle, said she was ahead of her husband when she got a phone call informing her about the crash, so she turned around to go back to the scene.

“It was really bad,” Palma told Cedar City News. “Our car was destroyed, and theirs was into a pole. I didn’t really know what was going on. My husband and son had already been brought to the hospital.”

Tomlin’s injuries included a fractured femur, dislocated wrist, two broken ribs, bruised lungs and a broken foot. The morning after the crash, he was airlifted from Beaver to St. George Regional Hospital for surgery and has since had several additional surgeries to repair the damaged bones and ligaments.

Scene of a head-on collision near 600 South Main, Beaver, Utah, Oct. 11, 2020 | File photo courtesy of Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News / Cedar City News

Meanwhile, Lawson, who was 3 years old at the time of the incident, was essentially unharmed, aside from some bruising. The boy had been secured in a child safety seat in the back seat of the vehicle.

“By a miracle, he came out of the accident basically untouched physically, but he still remembers the accident and he probably will forever,” Palma said of her son, who will turn 5 in March.

Meanwhile, at Edwards Air Force Base, Staff Sgt. Tomlin continues to be part of the 412th Security Forces Squadron, although he has been relegated to a desk job.

“He can’t be like a normal cop and carry a gun, wear a vest or do any of the things that cops are supposed to be able to do,” Palma said.

Family photo of Erin Palma (foreground), her husband Jacob Tomlin, and their son Lawson, date and location not specified. | Photo courtesy of Jacob Tomlin and Erin Palma, St. George News / Cedar City News

For example, Palma said her husband’s wrist injury prevents him from doing any pushups. 

“But the femur is the biggest issue,” she said. “It’s affecting his hip and his knee. They had to go back in and fix the femur again because it wasn’t healing properly.”

What’s made this even more difficult and frustrating, she said, is that she and her husband are used to being very active.

“We both are powerlifters,” she said. “He is just starting to get his strength back. It’s taken a long time for him to build up his body again, which is really frustrating for him. Working out is an outlet for him and he wasn’t able to do that.”

Palma said her husband’s injuries might also make it harder for him to advance in rank.

“It’s holding him back, career-wise,” she added.

“It was his first-ever car accident,” Palma said. “My husband’s never had a ticket, ever. He’d never been in an accident. He went from never having a broken bone or surgery to having several.”

The incident has also taken an emotional and psychological toll, Palma said.

“It affected us for a while,” she said. “We’ve both had trouble driving, especially on the one-lane highway on base. We would always be super jumpy that a car was coming into our lane. It’s taken a long time to feel comfortable driving again. I mean, we’re in therapy for fear of it.”

Still, Palma said they are grateful that things weren’t worse and that their son wasn’t seriously hurt. The military has paid for much of the medical bills, in addition to most of the out-of-pocket expenses they incurred during Tomlin’s three-week hospital stay in St. George.

The wreckage of a Toyota 4Runner involved in a head-on crash in Beaver, Utah on Oct. 11, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Jacob Tomlin and Erin Palma, St. George News / Cedar City News

As for their losses to their totaled car and the belongings that were inside, Palma said some details are still being worked out by the insurance companies.

“It’s been a long fight,” she said.

Palma said she’s still angry with the driver of the Armada, saying the man didn’t seem sorry at all for causing the crash.

“If anything, the look on his face was one of pure irritation,” she recalled.

“Thankfully, our insurance is really stepping up because this man had really poor insurance, especially for the price of the vehicle he was driving,” Palma said.

Palma said they haven’t heard from the other driver since the time of the incident. Both the driver and his wife were also reportedly injured in the crash.

“We have yet to hear an apology from him. We would love that,” she said.

Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Preston Holgreen, who investigated the crash, told Cedar City News the Armada driver was cited for making an improper left turn. 

Cedar City News made multiple unsuccessful attempts by telephone to reach the Armada driver, who is now 67 years old and resides in Murray. Call-back messages were also not returned.

Palma said she and her husband do have a bit of good news to look forward to: the family will be moving back to Montana this summer.

“He was able to put in for a base of preference and it actually went through,” Palma said of Tomlin. “He had to get waivers for his physical health, but they actually are letting us move back.”

“We aren’t stopping in Beaver, though,” she said.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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