The Holly Springs woman who was injured when a train plowed into a parade float filled with military veterans in Texas is facing a long recovery from her injuries.
Shane Ladner, a Holly Springs police officer who was wounded while serving in Iraq, and his wife, Meg, were riding a float during the annual Show of Support parade in Midland Nov. 15 when a train hit the float as it crossed the railroad tracks. Four people were killed and 16 injured.
Shane Ladner suffered back injuries in the collision. He was treated and released. Meg Ladner suffered more extensive injuries and is being treated at Atlanta Medical Center.
“Meg sustained major trauma,” family friend Susan Greene told Channel 2 Action News. “Her leg had to be amputated and her pelvis is crushed.”
Greene said Meg Ladner was taken to Atlanta Medical Center because the hospital has some of the best pelvic injury specialists.
Greene told Channel 2 she spoke with Shane Ladner after the accident.
“He just kept saying to me over and over, ‘I tried to save her. ‘I tried to save her.’ And I told him, ‘Shane, you did save her, you got her off that float and she is alive,” Greene said. “She’s his beloved, and he told me yesterday, ‘This is my post, and this is the most important post I’ve ever had in my life. I won’t be leaving it anytime soon, not until she leaves the hospital with me.’”
The Holly Springs Police Department has established a Ladner Benefit Fund with Cherokee Bank in Canton. Donations can be made in person or by mail to Cherokee Bank, P.O. Box 4250, Canton, GA., 30114.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.
