PEC journeyworkers honored for car crash rescue in Marble Falls

Two Pedernales Electric Cooperative journeyworkers were recently recognized for rescuing a mother and her 5-year-old daughter from a car crash in Marble Falls. George Lozano and Trey Salazar had just finished working an outage caused by an early April hailstorm when they saw an SUV flip and land on its side 10 feet in front of their own vehicle. 

While Lozano called 911, Salazar turned on flashers to stop traffic. They worked together to first remove the young girl from the vehicle and then the mother. 

“I climbed into the car, held up the girl in the car seat so she didn’t fall into the glass, cut her seatbelt, and carried her out,” Salazar said.

Mom Annie Minnix, a PEC member, suffered only a small scratch on her leg. 

“I didn’t even really look at myself, but I just told the two men, ‘I’m OK, just please get her out of the car,’” she said. “They did it so gracefully.”

Minnix said her daughter is still recovering mentally from the incident but speaks fondly of the journeyworkers who got her out.

“It’s lovely because she always says, ‘Remember those nice men who helped me out of the car,’ and that means so much to me,” she said.

Minnix thanked Lozano, Salazar, and everyone else who helped after the crash, adding that she remembers everything from the surreal feeling of flipping in the air to her daughter screaming in the backseat and the men jumping into action.

The Minnix family only recently moved to the area and have been pleasantly surprised by the compassion shown to them after the accident.

“The community has made us feel so lovely,” Minnix said. “We just want to thank the community for rallying around us and making us feel so loved. A big thank you for taking care of us and making sure we were OK.”

The PEC Board of Directors honored the two journeyworkers at its regular meeting in May. 

“Our employees have gone the extra mile on many occasions to help members in need,” a PEC spokesperson said in a media release. “Whether it’s helping people out of a car crash, assisting someone who accidentally got locked out of a house, taking food to those in need, or mowing a lawn for someone who can’t, PEC’s employees have shown their compassion for our membership on countless occasions.”

Lozano said it’s all part of being a member of the community. 

“While it does make us feel good when we’re out in the elements restoring power when we get to do something for our communities, it makes you feel like you’re doing more than just a job,” he said.

editor@thepicayune.com