Trevor Mills

When Trevor Mills witnessed a crash on familiar mountain roads, he never expected he’d be the one requiring STARS. 

Mills, a father of two from Edmonton, was driving to Radium, B.C., when he watched a vehicle in front of him lose control and disappear into a steep ravine beside the highway. 

“I went to help them,” said Mills. ​“When I pulled them from their vehicle, their SUV rolled over me.” 

It happened so quickly. Mills had slipped and slid partway down the steep shale slope to where the vehicle was precariously perched against a tree. He knew it could slide again at any moment — and there was a lot more ravine below. The driver was alert, the window was down, and Mills told him to get out. 

“He pushed his door open, and as he started coming, the vehicle started to slide. I reached across my shoulder, and I pulled him across me, away from the vehicle. And when I did, the vehicle turned a little bit and ultimately rolled over me and into the bottom of the ravine.” 

With that, Mills also tumbled further down the slope until he hit a tree and came to a stop. The person he’d saved was relatively fine, but Mills was not. 

“When I went to get up, my right leg wasn’t working properly,” he said. ​“And when I went to push myself up off the ground, my chest felt like it was full of broken spaghetti.” 

Mills had numerous injuries and broken bones, including a fractured vertebra. 

He was eventually winched from the ravine by volunteer firefighters and moved into a ground ambulance bound for Invermere, B.C. 

Mills called his wife to reassure her. An ambulance attendant took the phone and told her to call Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre in three hours and that STARS was meeting the ambulance in Invermere. 

“At that point, I knew that my suspicions of being badly hurt were pretty obvious.” 

He was at the Invermere hospital only briefly before STARS arrived. 

“Being rolled out to the helicopter, you understand the severity of what’s going on,” said Mills. ​“By the same token, you understand that you’re in the best hands you could be at the time.” 

Recovery hasn’t been easy. The fractured vertebra means he has ongoing issues with his right leg, and excessive physical movement leaves him in pain. His hockey days are over, and golfing is a decision on whether he’s willing to pay the price for a couple of days afterward. 

“While it physically hurts, there’s a mental portion of it that I feel I’m still doing some of the stuff that I used to do, and that’s important to me,” he said. 

Mills is thankful the outcome wasn’t worse, and he spends much of his time giving back to STARS, grateful to the many allies who make it possible. 

“To those people, thank you,” he said. ​“Those donations basically helped me see my son and my daughter graduate in the last couple of years. Without that support, maybe I don’t get to see that. So, I’ll forever be thankful for the support that comes to STARS.”