Portsmouth, VA — For firefighter Mark Reynolds, each emergency call is a race against time. But nothing could have prepared him for the nightmare he faced during a routine response to a multi-car crash—only to find his own wife among the injured.
It was a typical Thursday evening when the alarm at Station 17 sounded. A serious collision had occurred on the interstate. Reynolds, a 12-year veteran, suited up as always, unaware that this call would hit painfully close to home.
When Engine 17 arrived, chaos greeted the crew. Two vehicles had collided head-on, and a third had swerved into a guardrail. As Reynolds approached one of the overturned cars, a glint of silver caught his eye—a heart-shaped pendant dangling from the rearview mirror. It was the anniversary gift he’d given his wife, Lisa.
“I just froze,” Reynolds said, his voice breaking. “I kept thinking, It can’t be her. But then I saw her hand… and I knew.”
What should have been another day on the job became the most personal and devastating call of his career.
