A time of healing after tragic train accident

Students look to see God’s plan revealed every step of the way

Five students took a walk on train tracks high over the James River on Nov. 17 to look at the stars and marvel at God’s creation. But the serenity of the evening turned into tragedy because of a train’s rapid approach. Freshman Hannah Emmaline Williams, 18, of Sanford, N.C. was killed that night and another student was seriously injured.

Three months later, the students who survived are still recovering from the night they ran for their lives, and they continue to look to see God’s plan revealed every step of the way.

David Duque, Julianne Ashbaugh, Kaitlyn Hermening and Patrick Marshall were friends before the night of the accident, but in the weeks following the accident their friendship solidified into an inseparable bond.

Ashbaugh had broken bones and internal bleeding after losing her grip and falling from the train trestle.

She was in the hospital for three and a half weeks before being released home to continue occupational therapy. Today, she is back at school and continuing to regain full motion of her wrists and elbow.

Hermening said the four immediately began spending every day together, praying for one another and visiting Ashbaugh in the hospital.

“God brought us really close right after the accident. I feel like these are my brothers and sister,” Ashbaugh said.

Throughout the following weeks, the students received an outpouring of love and support from friends, family and many people they didn’t know.

“We all got bombarded on Facebook. People around the country would send us messages saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know you, but just wanted to let you know I’m praying for you,’” Hermening said.

All four students were thankful to attend Liberty University, where they knew people would be praying for them.

The Worship Pastor at Liberty University, Justin Kintzel, had a unique perspective of the Liberty student body during the Convocation after the accident.

“Students were praying together, even mourning over what had not been fully described yet,” Kintzel said. “The spiritual sensitivity of the Liberty student body is very strong. They can gather together in a time of mourning and pain, and turn to God and praise Him while lifting up those who don’t know what to feel.”

All four students had the sense that God was carrying them through the weeks of recovery.

“After the accident, Kaitlyn, Patrick and I worshiped, prayed and read Scripture in the E.R. It was during this time that I, for the first time, truly felt the presence of God in my life,” Duque said.

Ashbaugh said God became real to her through experiencing the miracle of being alive after coming so close to death.

“I live with more of a sense of urgency, like God’s given me this second chance at life and I really, really want to live it all for him,” Ashbaugh said.

Ashbaugh, Hermening, Duque and Marshall expressed a new boldness and motivation to serve God and share their faith.

“Your whole life is determined by the decisions you make every day…it’s really motivated me to put more time and effort into schoolwork or whatever God has for me here,” Marshall said.

“From the moment I woke up in the hospital it was like a wake up call. Things that were important to me before, I realized, had no value, and I kind of just realized what’s really important,” Ashbaugh said.

Even in the midst of tragedy, the survivors say that God has been working in the their lives and the lives of those around them.

“The night of the accident we asked God that He would be glorified through this tragedy. He has answered our prayer and will continue to,” Duque said.

Duque, Marshall and Hermening asked Kintzel to come surprise Ashbaugh in the hospital, and after learning they were worship majors, Kintzel and the four shared a time of worship.

“The sheer dedication and desire to know what God wants from them, especially after going through such a traumatic time, is unmatched by anything else I’ve experienced. They are walking, talking evidence of God’s mercies being new each morning and how sometimes, all you can do is rely on Him,” Kintzel said.

Surrounded by insurmountable circumstance, all four students have seen the faithfulness of God. They now use their stories as testimony and encouragement to others of God’s healing and power.

“When you’re going through a really hard time, look for God working, because God has plans and doesn’t do anything by accident. He does everything for a reason,” Ashbaugh said.