WOOD RIVER - A mother and her daughter were seriously hurt in an East Alton shooting on January 22, 2022. The story of the two, their survival and recovery is extraordinary.
The mother wished only to be called Maria B. because the case is still pending in Madison County Court.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
She said the situation was very touch-and-go and it is almost a miracle that she survived. When interviewed, Maria B. was volunteering at a track and field meet, one of her passions. This is how Maria B. shared her story:
"On Jan. 22, 2022, my daughter and I were leaving a hockey game for my grandson and we were approached by a man who said he needed a lighter. We told him we didn't have a lighter and a few seconds later he came back and had a gun he was aiming it right at my daughter. I grabbed my daughter and we both took off running and he decided to shoot us in the back. He hit me in the back of the leg and the bullet went through me and also hit my daughter's leg.
"I am doing well and she is doing well. My daughter is in nursing, if it wasn't for that, I probably wouldn't have made it. She called 911, applied pressure to the wound, and called her husband all in a matter of a minute.
"Several off-duty nurses came out to help us and my daughter administered first aid. I lost two liters of blood at the scene, but I had two tourniquets applied to stop the bleeding. I thank God I am here today."
Maria B. also said a retired Army medic applied a second tourniquet and he was also a lifesaver.
Police made arrests in the case shortly after the shooting in amazing work by area law enforcement.
Maria B.'s son said this Easter was especially wonderful for his family because of his mother and sister's recovery. He said he also knows the outcome could have easily been much different in this case, without the help of his sister and others.
Maria B and her son are runners, and they are hoping to do a 5K race soon.
"Mom loves to run and is very fit and I think that is another reason she survived," her son said. "She has run some half marathons the past five to 10 years and she wants to get back into running. She is out running now and sometime soon she will be out running again."
He agrees that without his sister being a trained nurse, his mother could have bled to death.
"A lot of people responded who had the know-how to stop the bleeding," he said. "They took blood vessels from her good leg and replaced lost blood vessels in her other leg. I am so thankful for how she and my sister have recovered. It was a terrible situation and almost a miracle she has recovered so well."Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
More like this:
