Ethan Case’s Incredible Act of Bravery that Saved His Friend’s Life on the Job
The work day ahead was routine for these best friends. Grapple trucks rumbling through rural Georgia in the aftermath of a hurricane, picking up storm debris pushed to the roadside. For 23-year-old Ethan Case, this FEMA-contracted disaster relief job was just another day in the field with his lifelong friend and work partner Matt Holland.
“Before we get to a work site, we always talk about our safety plan for the day. We knew we were going to be in a remote area, so we talked about a safety plan that morning,” says Ethan. “We said if anything happens today, we would need to call a helicopter.”
It was a perfectly straight road with clear visibility in both directions—“you could see for miles,” Ethan recalls. They were running a grapple truck, marked with hazard strobes, large reflective triangles, and caution signage. They were doing everything by the book.
Matt’s chainsaw chain had popped off, so he stepped behind the truck to grab tools. Just seconds later, “it sounded like a bomb went off,” Ethan remembers. “I thought a tire had blown or something. I never imagined it was a car.”
A woman, distracted or unaware, drove straight into the work zone at full speed. Matt was behind the truck. The impact threw his body violently against the bumper and under the truck, snapping his femur, breaking his jaw, and rendering him unconscious.
“When I saw his helmet in the ditch, I knew something was really wrong. Our number one rule is to never take your helmet off. Ever.”
The Value of Preparedness
In that moment of chaos, instinct and training took over. Ethan got to Matt’s side, and assessed the damage. Matt wasn’t breathing. He had no pulse. His leg was grotesquely bent, pinned under the car, and his jaw was shattered.
“I had to get him out of the oil and car fluid. I grabbed his arms and started dragging him. That’s when I realized he was pinned under the car.”
What followed was a blur of skill and determination. He carefully freed Matt’s leg to avoid severing the femoral artery, checked for injuries, and began CPR. With one hand in Matt’s mouth to clear his airway, and the other pumping his chest, he fought to bring his friend back to life.
“I told the others to call 911 and get me a helicopter. There was no way an ambulance would make it in time.”
The fire department arrived, but no one helped Ethan. They assumed Matt was beyond saving but Ethan refused to stop. “He’s not gone until I give up on him,” he repeated. And so he didn’t give up.
Twenty long minutes of compressions later, Matt’s heart started beating again. He opened his eyes. “Hey,” he whispered.
A Helicopter and a Second Chance
A trauma kit was brought out, gauze stuffed into Matt’s mouth to slow the bleeding. When the helicopter lifted him off the ground and flew him to Augusta, Ethan finally let himself believe that his friend might survive.
“There’s a saying that helicopters don’t fly dead people. So when they took off with him, I knew he was going to be okay.”
Today, Matt is recovering. He’s back home, walking with a cane, working to regain weight and strength. He’s anxious to return to work with the people he trusts.
“It was the first job he ever truly enjoyed,” Ethan says. “We’d known each other since we were kids. There are pictures of us together at five or six years old.”
The Lesson: Take Safety Seriously
What saved Matt that day wasn’t luck. It was preparation. It was training. It was brotherhood.
“My training gave me steps to follow. Very clear steps. CPR, trauma response, safety—when you drill it enough times, it’s there when you need it.”
Ethan credits his company, Med Forestry, and training groups like SOS Safety for instilling those lifesaving procedures. He encourages everyone in the construction and forestry industries—especially those working in remote areas—to treat safety training like it’s a criticial skill.
“You never think it’ll happen. But it can. We had talked before the job that day about how far we were from a hospital. We had a plan. That plan saved Matt’s life.”
Ethan and Matt – Best buddies since cub scouts
