Nova Scotia farm thankful after van carrying eight employees crashes and 'so many people step up to help'

William Spurr has lived and farmed in a small community most of his life, so the way people came together to help after eight of his workers were involved in a vehicle crash was not surprising to him.

The eight workers from Jamaica were travelling in one of the vans owned by Spurr Brothers Farms in Melvern Square, Annapolis County. As they were driving down Highway 1 on Tuesday morning, a car crossed into the path of the van, which the larger vehicle struck before going nose-first into the ditch.

While waiting for emergency crews to respond, people stopped to help.

“We’re in a small community and everyone knows everybody, so people just stopped and stepped up to help,” Spurr said. “They checked them over and people were handing out water bottles.”

The farm posted about the crash on Facebook to give thanks not only to emergency crews but others, including a passerby who stopped and started providing first aid, staff at a nearby business that brought water and a provincial public works employee who helped with traffic.

It also saluted the staff, doctors and nurses at Soldiers Memorial Hospital who dealt with the sudden influx of patients.

“They were all checked out, but there was nothing major,” Spurr said.

It was still enough to put them off work for a bit, however.

“They’re all pretty sore and banged up, but it was a good van and good airbags,” he said.

The workers are all due to head home to Jamaica in a couple of weeks now that the farming season is winding up.

In its Facebook post, the farm said it was incredibly thankful and acknowledged the results could have been very different.

“To the Kingston Fire Department, I’m always amazed and grateful for the volunteers willing to take on this important work. To the RCMP, thank you for being professional while also showing kindness and compassion. To the EHS crews, thank you for caring for our guys and getting all eight safely to the hospital,” the post said.

“Our focus yesterday was making sure our guys were okay, so we may have missed thanking others who helped. Please know your kindness did not go unnoticed. Our Jamaican workers are part of our Spurr Brothers family, and seeing so many people step up to help them means more than we can say.’