Gerry Bertier - Car Accident

Car Accident

On December 11, 1971, Gerry Bertier attended a banquet honoring the players of the 1971, T.C. Williams Titans football team for their undefeated season. After the banquet, Gerry borrowed his mother's new 1971 Camaro. Bertier lost control of the Camaro and crashed into a pram. The cause of the accident was determined to be a mechanical failure in the motor mount of his engine. Following the accident, Bertier was rushed to the Alexandria Hospital in critical condition. After initially stabilizing him, the doctors determined that his lungs had been pierced by his sternum, which went into his spinal column. Because of the severity of his injuries, Bertier initially had to be operated on in the X-ray room, only moving to the operating room when he was stabilized. Although doctors tried to relieve pressure on his spine to help him regain some feeling, it was unsuccessful. Bertier would live the rest of his life paralyzed from the waist down.

A month after the accident, Bertier accepted an award for being the most outstanding defensive player in the metropolitan area, a ceremony he arrived at in an ambulance. Bertier had difficulty adjusting to paralysis and life in a wheelchair, confessing to assistant head coach Bill Yoast that "it took him two years to accept the fact from the time of the accident that he would be crippled for life." Once he did accept it, nothing held Bertier back from helping others. Bertier told his mother, "I don't care if I'm paralyzed. God left me with my brain and I'm going to use it to help people less fortunate."

During the next year, Bertier coordinated with Alexandria Junior Colleges to set up a "Walk for Mankind," and encouraged students, adults, company executives to donate. Bertier occasionally met with others who suffered similar injuries, helping them with their rehabilitation. Outside of his hometown, Gerry made speeches across the country for rights for the handicapped. He addressed subjects such as making buildings handicapped accessible. Bertier gained employment with Abbey Medical, selling medical equipment to the handicapped. His position allowed him to attend wheelchair sporting events all over the country.