Rachel Beckstrom
A Tooele LDS missionary is back in Utah after she survived a fatal accident in Atlanta that killed her companion.
Rachel Beckstrom was transported to a hospital in Murray last Wednesday but remains in a coma, according to her father, Curtis Beckstrom. The Beckstroms are back home in Tooele and Curtis Beckstrom said family and friends have rallied around the family.
Rachel Beckstrom, 19, remains in critical condition but was stable enough to transport by ambulance between the hospitals and airports, Curtis Beckstrom said. She has been running a fever, which peaked at 104 degrees, since the accident and could be fighting an infection, he said.
Rachel is responding to stimuli but the full extent of the damage from the accident is still uncertain, Curtis Beckstrom said.
“Seeing her look at me and not see me is so surreal,” he said.
When they arrived at their home in Tooele, the family was greeted by welcome back signs and neighbors took good care of their house, Curtis Beckstrom said. Despite being happy to be home, the Beckstroms are tired, he said.
Support from the church and community has been helpful, “probably more than we realize,” Curtis Beckstrom said.
“We have to find a new normal,” he said.
Rachel Beckstrom was riding in a Ford Focus driven by her companion, Natalie Anne Barnard, 20, when the accident occurred on May 29. Barnard pulled out onto traffic on the Matt Highway in Cummings, Georgia when the car was struck by a tractor trailer, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department.
Rachel Beckstrom was flown to an area hospital but Barnard died at the scene, according to police. The driver of the semitrailer was not injured in the accident.
