Md. family pays it forward to nursing student who helped save their son's life in crash

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - An act of heroism and kindness has come full circle in Montgomery County after a nursing assistant was credited with saving a man's life in a serious car accident on Interstate 270.

Matt Gault is being treated at the intensive care unit in Fairfax County after suffering a slight setback in his recovery. But his parents are thrilled that he survived and they said they cannot do enough to thank the woman who helped him.

Back in January, Matt Gault's life changed in an instant when he overcorrected while changing lanes along the Maryland highway. But Katelyn Losquadro happened to be driving behind him and his friends that day. She pulled over when she saw the car had smashed into the guardrail.

"I went up to the car and I just asked, 'Is everyone alive?' Losquadro recalled. "Someone was trying to pull him out of the car and I said, 'We can't move him.'"

Losquadro is currently a nursing assistant who hopes to one day become a trauma nurse. The training she has had so far immediately kicked in during this situation.

"I told him I wasn't going to leave him until they put him on the stretcher," she said. "Just keep breathing. Don't look at his leg. Stay as calm as possible."

Gault ended up losing his leg. But his injuries could have been much worse.

"He did break three vertebrae in the accident," said Gault's father, Chris. "Luckily, it was very slight fractures, but you don't know what is going to happen. She held him in the C-spine position, which is to keep him from getting paralyzed, so she knew what she was doing."

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Chris' son is an avid skier and snowboarder. His parents said this accident has not broken his spirit and the 20-year-old is even thinking about competing in the Paralympics once he is fitted with a prosthetic.

"He's still looking forward to skiing next winter," said mother Robyn Gault.

The Gault family will be forever grateful. After tracking Losquadro down through a story that aired on FOX 5, they decided to create a GoFundMe account for her. She dropped out of high school when both of her parents fell ill several years ago. Since losing them both, she has been struggling to put herself through nursing school.

The GoFundMe page has raised more than $10,000 in just over a month and someone who saw our story also helped her get a new job inside a trauma center.

"I honestly don't even know how to react other than a million thanks," said Losquadro. "I was just on Facebook and I posted a comment wishing them well and hating that Matt is going through this right now being back in the hospital. From just the bottom of my heart, I can't thank them enough. I really cannot because I don't have anybody and they really stepped in and showed a tremendous amount of support and I could not be more thankful. All I can do is get my degree and show them I was worth the effort. I look forward to saving more lives. That is what I want to do."

The Gault family plans to be there to see it happen.

"We want to basically kind of adopt her and make her part of our family," said Robyn. "We have gone out to dinner with her already and we just want to do more of that. Have her over for holidays and things like that. So that is what I see in our future - her being part of our family."

Matt Gault was just re-admitted to the hospital with an infection. Doctors said it will set back his recovery by about a month to a month and a half, but his parents said that he will be fitted with a prosthetic as soon as he has healed.

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