NEW LONDON, Mo., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A Catholic priest who a Missouri car crash victim thought was her guardian angel after appearing at her side while trapped in her car has been identified.
Katie Lentz, 19, of Quincy was driving down a two-lane road near her hometown Aug. 4 when her car was struck head-on by a suspected drunken driver. With her leg was pinned in the car, trapping her, emergency personnel were scrambling to extricate Lentz as her vital signs began to drop, ABC News said.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a priest showed up and Lentz asked him to pray her leg wouldn't hurt. The priest anointed Lentz with holy oil and prayed at her side.
"There was a calmness that, to me, seemed to come over the entire scene," New London Fire Chief Raymond Reed said.
As the priest was walking away, fire crews told him their equipment wasn't working. Firefighters said the priest told them "to remain calm, that our tools would now work."
Coincidentally, a neighboring fire company arrived with extrication equipment that helped free Lentz from her vehicle.
Afterward, first responders said they looked around to thank the priest for his assistance but he was gone, his identity a mystery.
At least that was the case until an account of the guardian angel priest hit the Internet and the cleric, the Rev. Patrick Dowling, came forward to ensure "the credit goes where it is due," CNN reported.
Dowling said there wasn't much mystery. He happened upon the accident scene while driving home after celebrating mass with parishioners whose priest was sick. He confirmed he prayed over Lentz, then stepped aside and silently prayed the rosary as firefighters used the newly arrived equipment to remove her from the convertible.
Dowling said he left just as a rescue helicopter was taking off with Lentz inside.
Dowling credited first responders for working "harmoniously" at the scene.
"I think there may have been angels there too and, in this context, I congratulate the fire team from New London and Hannibal, the sheriff/deputies of Ralls County, the Highway Patrol personnel, the helicopter team, the nurses and all who worked so professionally," Dowling wrote on the National Catholic Register website where an account of the story was posted. "God has blessed your work. I hope the credit goes where it is due."
