“Where am I?” Those were the first words Jerry Hathcock heard when he answered the phone. Jerry’s hair literally stood up on the back of his neck. He could tell immediately by the way his son, Dustin, was talking that something was seriously wrong.
Jerry was in Safford, Arizona, three hours away from where he thought Dustin was riding his dirt bike that day at a place called Blue Hills. He knew that Dustin was an aggressive rider, even reckless at times. Dustin was twenty-two years old, and like most twenty-two-year-olds, he thought he was bullet proof. This was the back-and-forth conversation between father and son: “Dustin, did you go riding?” “Yes.” “Did you wreck?” “Yes, I can’t get up.” “Where did you go riding?” “I don’t know.” “Blue Hills?” “Yes.” “Who did you go riding with?” “Lipps” (his co-worker Jack Lipps). “Where is he?” “I don’t know.”
On that fall day in 2009, Dustin Hathcock, had planned a day of dirt bike riding with two of his co-workers from the Tucson Electric power plant. He arrived early at their pre-determined destination outside of St. Johns, AZ. He unloaded his KTM380 and took it out for a ride to warm it up before his buddies showed up. Normally, Dustin put on his riding gear, including his helmet. That morning, he didn’t put anything on. His buddies showed up and the first question they asked him was, “Dustin, where is your riding gear?” His friends were all about riding safely. Dustin was more of a rebel and admits that he was acting like an idiot that day.
Dustin had ridden Blue Hills before. This was the first time Jack and their co-worker had ridden those rolling clay mounds. They wanted to go exploring and ride the hills, but Dustin wanted to open it up on the wide expanse of the flats. He had not ridden in that direction before, and he was ready for a high-speed thrill. Without further conversation, Dustin headed in the opposite direction as his friends yelled at him to put on his riding gear. He paid no attention to them.
Dustin opened up his bike on the long flat expanse of clay dirt. His KTM380 was made for speed. He estimates he was traveling 70-80 miles per hour. Because he had never ridden in that area before, Dustin didn’t know that he was approaching a wash/gulley that had 4-foot-tall banks on each side. He was looking beyond the wash towards the horizon. By the time he saw the wash, it was too late. At the last second, he jammed on the brakes, but still slid into the wash at a high rate of speed. As the front tire hit the bottom of the wash, it dug into the clay dirt. Dustin flew over the handlebars and face planted. His head stopped but his legs came up and over his back and head (imagine a scorpion). He had only been separated from his friends for a few minutes. It would be three hours before anyone found him.
Dustin believes he was unconscious for up to an hour. When he came to, he couldn’t move. He felt like something (or someone) was holding him down. Dustin apparently had enough understanding of his situation to remove his phone in his front pocket, even though he has no memory of doing that. He started calling family and friends; anyone who would answer his call and send help even though he has no memory of talking to anyone. He did not find out until later that he got a hold of two people that day – his father, Jerry, and his co-worker, Tim. Tim was able to determine that Dustin was in trouble and where he was, but he couldn’t do anything for Dustin because he was over an hour away from Blue Hills. He called the authorities and got help headed Dustin’s way.
Jerry knew that he needed to get help to his son right away. It was the worst phone call that he had ever taken and the most difficult thing he had to do was to end the call. Jerry called the St. Johns’ police who then relayed the emergency information to the Apache County Sheriff’s office. Jerry also called friends and family who lived nearby, and they all headed to Blue Hills to look for Dustin. He tried to call Dustin back, but he never answered; by that time Dustin’s phone had died. Jerry then waited anxiously in Safford for a phone call. He felt in his heart and mind that Dustin was paralyzed.
Dustin never came back from his ride, and his two friends/co-workers were worried and started looking for him in the direction he headed when he left them. They were looking for any sign of him – any dust that his dirt bike was kicking up – but nothing. There was no sign of him. At one point they had gotten within 10 feet of the wash but didn’t see the wash or him. Dustin could hear them looking for him and calling his name, but he couldn’t move, and he couldn’t yell for help. More people arrived and there was a full-on search for Dustin. They, too, got within a few yards of him but didn’t see the wash. About three hours after his accident, one of the paramedics was looking out over that wide expanse and caught a glimpse of the bike’s fender sticking slightly above the top of the wash. He sent the searchers in that direction, and they finally spotted Dustin at the bottom of the wash.
Dustin was seriously injured. He fractured his C2 vertebrae and other vertebrae lower in his back, fractured the bones in his eye socket and cheekbone, and fractured his skull from his temple to behind his ear. His breathing was shallow and labored. The paramedic who tended to Dustin told him that if they had found him even a ½ hour later, he probably would not have made it. He spent a week in the hospital and eventually made a full recovery.
So, are you wondering how God was in Dustin’s story that day? First, it is still a mystery to him how he was able to remove his flip phone from his pocket and make those phone calls. He had limited mobility and it wasn’t like he could say “Hey Siri, call dad” on a flip phone. He has no memory of calling and talking to anyone. Could it be that Dustin had help?
Dustin believes he had at least one angel by his side while he was in the wash. He told his dad that he could not get up; that it felt like someone was holding him down and trying to keep him from moving. An EMT who had tended to Dustin, and who worked with Jerry, later told Jerry that there was no reason why Dustin should not have been able to stand up. The problem is that if Dustin had stood up or even tried to stand up, he probably would have caused further damage to the C2 vertebrae. The C2 vertebrae controls the respiratory functions of the body. Any further damage would cut off Dustin’s oxygen, and he would have suffocated. Dustin was also fortunate that he did not sever his spinal cord because of how hard his face/head hit the ground. Dustin’s mom and sister are both nurses. They told him that he should not be alive let alone be able to walk.
Dustin believes in his heart that it was his Grandpa Adrian Hathcock who was with him in the wash that day and prevented him from standing up. The Spirit has repeatedly confirmed to him that his grandpa was there. Even though his grandpa had died before Dustin was born, he had an unusually close relationship with his grandpa and believes they formed that close bond in the pre-existence. When he was just a little boy, around 2-3 years old, Dustin would always talk about and ask about his grandpa. His parents would find him in bed at night crying, and when they asked him what was wrong, he would tell them how much he missed his Grandpa Hathcock.
After the accident, Dustin had trouble understanding why God spared his life. He felt that because of the poor choices he made up to that point in his life that he was a bad person and didn’t deserve to live. Over time, God revealed to Dustin that he would one day serve a mission for Him. While Dustin waits for further instruction from God about his life’s mission, he now strives to make good decisions and is progressing on his mortal journey. He is married now, and he and his wife, Amy, have three beautiful children. He loves his family and endeavors to be a good husband, father, and provider. He knows there is a God, and he will not deny what he knows and what he has seen.
Dustin recognizes that he is lucky to be alive and is grateful that God blessed him with another chance at life. He knows, without a doubt, that there was divine intervention that saved his life that day in 2009. His angel grandpa was there to comfort him, help him, and keep him from doing further damage to his body. He also knows that God has more for him to do, and whatever his future mission, Dustin is certain that his Grandpa Hathcock will be with him, watching over him, and protecting him just as he always has.
Submitted by Dustin Hathcock from Mesa, AZ
July 2021
Love reading these stories