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Local Scouts pull 3 children safely from smoldering wreck

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

When seven scouts left the Camp Thunder compound in Molena in nearby Pike County, they were looking to grab a bite to eat at Ted’s Montana Grill in Fayetteville, let their hair down and have a little fun on their night off.

But the men, who were a part of Camp Thunder’s camp staff, ended up nixing their plans when tragedy struck and duty called on June 9.

As Life Scout Paul Hutchens, 17, of Griffin, Eagle Scout Chris Henry, 18, of Brooks, Eagle Scout Neal Wilson, 33, of Woodbury, Eagle Scout George Boggs, 19, of Fayetteville, Eagle Scout Zack Deckner, 15, of McDonough, Life Scout Joseph Fernander, 15, of Griffin, and Life Scout Jarrod Lindenmuth, 15, of Florida, headed to Fayetteville in their vehicles, the road behind them turned into a scene of horror.

Boggs looked out of his rear-view mirror while traveling on Ga. Highway 18 between Concord and Molena.

“I saw the black Grand Am swerve and hit the Volvo,” Boggs said.

The 1995 Pontiac Grand Am was driven by Jefferson Mangham, 51, of Concord, Georgia State Patrol Trooper 1st Class Tommie Wonnum said. The 1998 Volvo V70 station wagon was driven by Christy Redenz, 28, of Molena, Wonnum added.

Boggs, the driver of a Chevy S-10 pickup truck, pulled over to the side of the road. Henry, a certified first-responder, followed suit.

In a split second, the scouts came up with a plan and went to work.

Boggs, Henry, Fernander, Hutchens and a former firefighter named Don, helped remove three small children from the rear seat of the Volvo. The other scouts directed traffic on the two-lane stretch.

The scouts had to work in perilous conditions when the Volvo caught fire with five people inside, added Joe Wortham, director for Thunder Scout Reservation in Molena.

“Fernander stopped a trash truck and borrowed a fire extinguisher and started putting the fire out while the other men were pulling the children out,” Wortham said.

Fernander next grabbed his cell phone and called for help. A 911 operator asked for his location, Wortham said.

“I’ve got GPS. Find me,” Wortham said Fernander said. “They said ‘Hold on. We got you.’”

Units from the Pike County Fire Department arrived and took charge of the scene, confirmed firefighter/EMT Troop Sutherland, assistant deputy chief for Pike County Fire Department and city fire chief for Molena.

Sutherland said the fire was “mostly out,” but firefighters fully extinguished the blaze.

When the smoke cleared, Redenz and her daughter Molly had died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident. Mangham was taken to Grady, but later died Sunday, Pike County Coroner Terrell Moody said.

The other children are back at home in Molena and are doing well, authorities said.

Wortham said he is so proud of his men for taking an action that helped saved three young lives. Wortham indicated not many would have done such a selfless act.

“They did what was right,” Wortham said. “They stopped rather than going on, like some of the others.”

The Boy Scouts will be nominated for two national honors, the Life Saving and the Meritorious Action awards for their heroic deeds, Wortham added. It’s a six-month tedious process, Wortham indicated, but he hopes the scouts will claim the honors.