Valley News – Jewell, of Lebanon, has returned from a car accident and is more aware of the dangers of “drowsy driving.”

PLAINFIELD – Maddie Jewell realized she was tired as she made the half-hour drive home from Grantham late Saturday night last November.

It’s been a busy start to the school year for Jewell, a three-sport athlete at Lebanon High. She had recently finished her own soccer season. She drove to Nashua twice to support the Lebanon boys team in the NHIAA Division II semifinals and finals and got up early the next day.

She had also recently completed the last of seven college applications. Additionally, Jewell isn’t the type of teenager you sleep in on weekends.

So that night while driving, she drank drinks from a water bottle, turned up her stereo, and rolled down the windows at the same time to stay alert.

However, she had turned up the heat and rolled up the SUV’s windows again while driving. A heavy coat probably contributed to the warm, disconnected feeling that eventually came over her.

“I never imagined I would ever be in this situation,” Jewell said. “I used to wonder how people could fall asleep at the wheel, but it happened so quickly.”

Jewell remembers hitting a mailbox on Stage Road, not far from her home, but doesn’t remember getting out of her overturned vehicle.

Her memory of the events resurfaces as she climbs the wooded embankment to reach an adjacent house and receives help from its residents. The whole sequence remains somewhat surreal.

The Plainfield police report states: “The vehicle left the roadway on the right side, struck a mailbox, a power line guide wire pole and then a pine tree approximately 5 feet in diameter.”

Maddie Jewell was saved from ejection by her seatbelt, but its restraint broke her collarbone and caused internal bleeding in her abdomen. Her hands sustained cuts from shards of glass, some of which became lodged under the skin.

To top it all off, Jewell’s nose absorbed a hard blow from an airbag, causing blood to rush to her face.

What followed was an ambulance ride and six hours in the emergency room.

Maddie Jewell’s Kia Telluride rested on its roof, its windows blown out from hitting a tree on an embankment, and it rolled over before landing back on Stage Road.

Deployed airbags hung limply, and the blaring stereo provided an eerie soundtrack to a scene filled with flashing lights from assembled emergency vehicles.

“If I had just been there without hearing the call, I wouldn’t have thought she was still alive,” Amanda Jewell said. “I’m surprised the whole town didn’t hear me cry.”

Maddie’s father Chris insisted she drive again two days later, just for a quick trip to the local village shop, to allay her long-term fears. He drove her to school for the next week, but then she had to do it alone again.

On January 13, Jewell returned to the basketball team, but it took until the lacrosse season for him to fully recover. Jewell scored more than 130 goals during her Lacrosee High School career and plans to play for Emmanuel College in Boston next spring.

Jewell was not drunk during her accident. She hadn’t been partying and there was no one else in the vehicle to distract her.

She returned from a quiet night at a friend’s house in Grantham and fell asleep at the wheel. It’s a common danger that might not come to mind when you think about teen driving, but the statistics are sobering.

Drivers ages 16 to 24 are at greatest risk for what the National Transportation Safety Board calls “drowsy driving,” and the National Safety Council estimates that at least 50% of drowsy driving accidents are caused by these drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that in 2022, fatigued U.S. drivers of all ages were involved in 91,000 crashes, resulting in 693 deaths.

“People don’t think about that, especially parents,” Amanda Jewell said. “We have to pay attention to what days and weeks our children have.”

Sara Ecker has been Lebanon’s girls lacrosse coach for 30 years, a licensed teen mental health counselor, and mother of two high school students. She was shocked by the news of Jewell’s crash, but not surprised by the cause.

“Our kids aren’t getting enough sleep, and there are so many studies that show mental health suffers because of it,” Ecker said. “You’re constantly moving, trying to fit 100 things in.

“The pressure to please others is so great that they come out on top on both sides, both academically and socially.”

Maddie Jewell now drives home from her friend’s house in Grantham via a longer route that takes her through downtown Lebanon and out to Route 12A. The lights and movement contrast with the quiet streets of Plainfield, and she thinks it’s more likely to keep them awake.

She also hasn’t driven after 11 p.m. since her accident.

“I think it’s really important for people to listen to their bodies,” said Maddie Jewell. “And I didn’t put myself in that situation again.”

Tris Wykes can be reached at [email protected].