Emergency c-section on dead mother saves baby following I-55 wreck

A baby was saved from her mother’s lifeless body after a fatal wreck Wednesday morning on Interstate 55 in Cape Girardeau. Knowing the mother was dead, emergency personnel performed CPR to give the baby, Maddyson, a chance to live.

Maddyson was out of critical condition by Friday afternoon, but it is uncertain whether the child suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.

Sarah Iler died in the collision. The mother-to-be, who originally was from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, was headed to the hospital there because Maddyson’s birth was imminent, according to her sister, Kasandra Iler. Sarah Iler already was dilated, and that’s why she and her husband, Matt Rider, were driving south on I-55 on Wednesday morning.

Sarah Iler, 26, of Cape Girardeau was trying her best to heed the doctor’s advice and carry Maddyson as long as possible. Sarah Iler already was past her original due date of May 10, but she was petite and slender, and there was a worry the baby was going to be born too small. Iler was ready to be a mom, and that was her focus, Kasandra Iler said.

Sarah Iler’s companion Wednesday morning was Rider. The couple had been estranged for awhile, but recently had reconciled.

At 8:04 a.m. Wednesday, a tanker truck struck a Nissan sport utility vehicle that struck the vehicle Rider was driving, a red Chevrolet Blazer.

The tanker truck barreled into the Blazer, pushing the SUV into the median. The Blazer overturned and threw Rider and Iler. Kansandra said Iler was killed on impact, but firefighters and EMTs rushed to give Iler CPR in an effort to save her baby.

Iler was taken to Saint Francis Medical Center, where an emergency cesarean section was performed. Maddyson immediately was put on a ventilator, Kasandra Iler said. Maddyson was born 4 pounds, 15 ounces — small enough that she needed special treatment.

On Friday, Maddyson was taken off the ventilator. Kasandra Iler said Maddyson opened her eyes and grabbed a nurse’s finger. There is a worry, however, she was deprived of oxygen for too long. It’s too soon to tell whether brain damage occurred, Kasandra Iler said.

“The thought never once entered my head that that baby might die,” Kasandra Iler said. “I felt my sister gave her life to save this baby. That’s how God wanted it. We’ve been calling her our little miracle.”

Rider seems to be doing better, too. All of his limbs and a few ribs were broken, and he’s endured several surgeries. Kasandra Iler said Iler’s family has not traveled to see him at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he was taken after the collision — pictures have served as the replacement for a face-to-face meeting.

There now is a colossal hole in the Iler family. Iler’s sisters, Kansandra and Amanda West, and her mother, Patricia Knight, are waiting to see what happens with Maddyson and Rider, but the question of who is going to take care of Maddyson is unanswered for now.

“She had her whole life ahead of her,” Knight said of her daughter. “And now the baby has to grow up without her mother. ... Amanda, it’s like she’s lost her other half. You can’t tell Amanda and Sarah apart in a lot of pictures.”

The Iler family has set up a gofundme.com account to raise $5,000 to pay for the funeral with Moore’s Funeral Service in Poplar Bluff. The family does not have a lot of money, and that is compounded by Sarah not having life insurance, Kasandra said. More than $3,400 had been raised by Saturday evening.

Sarah Iler was very close to her 9-year-old niece MaKenna, Amanda’s daughter. Knight said MaKenna has cried for nearly two days straight.

“Sarah, she just touched everybody’s life,” Knight said. “She was just amazing.”

The gofundme account can be found at gofundme.com/23z6zng.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

1100 Iron Bridge Road, Poplar Bluff, Mo.