Local family honors first responders’ lifesaving efforts
On a November night in 2022, the Herl family was traveling home from a trip to Las Vegas when an act of apparently random violence changed their lives forever. And without the expertise of the men and women who work as first responders in the valley, that night could have very well ended in death. Instead, Gregory Herl’s life was saved and the profound gratitude that the Herl family felt in the days that followed the 2022 incident has never faded.
In honor of all those who played a part in preserving Gregory’s life, the Herl family gathered with members of Mercy Air, Air Methods, the Nye County Sheriff’s Office and Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue on Friday, Sept. 19 for a special ceremony in which they presented a series of plaques, handmade and infused with eternal thanks.
“It was a horrible thing that happened that night. We had just gotten back from Vegas, from taking my dad to the veterans’ hospital crematory,” Gregory’s wife, Pamela, explained for those assembled at the ceremony. The party included the couple and their two sons, the elder, Jesse James, and the younger, Sammy Holly, who had fallen asleep on the ride home.
“We were coming down Manse and it just happened so quickly,” Pamela continued. “This guy came up beside us, shot out the windows, he turned us sideways in a pit maneuver. Then we turned and hit a four-foot embankment and we went up airborne and came back down. God was with us, because nothing happened to the van.”
It didn’t take long for Gregory to realize he had been shot, both in the back and the neck. Racing to return to the road, the family was horrified to find that the shooter was waiting for them and proceeded to chase them through the streets. “We got to about Hafen Elementary and my husband looked at me and said, ‘Pam, tell everybody I love them because I am dying. I can’t breathe and I can’t see anymore.’”
As the couple’s van rolled to a stop, Pamela managed to lift her husband over the console and into the passenger seat before she took over driving herself, all the while with the shooter still in pursuit. The chase finally ended when Pamela pulled into one of her new neighbor’s unfenced driveways, only houses down from where one of the first dispatched Nye County Sheriff’s Office deputies was arriving to the scene.
“All of these people are amazing,” Pamela enthused. “They knew where I was, because I had called 911, and they were there. They did everything they were supposed to do, the police were there, the ambulance was there, the fire trucks and the sheriff’s department and highway patrol were there. And I don’t know what we’d have done without you guys but we love you all. Thank you so very much.”
The family had sustained several wounds due to the shattered glass but it was Gregory who was the worst off, with a collapsed lung and multiple gunshot wounds that required immediate attention in the field from Pahrump Fire and Rescue paramedics, followed by a flight-for-life to UMC Trauma in Las Vegas. Throughout the experience, Gregory had to be resuscitated twice but he was ultimately able to make a recovery, though he still suffers from residual pain and difficulty breathing.
Despite the trauma and fear Gregory must have felt as his life was slowing slipping away, those who tended him that night recalled that he was only concerned about his family.
“The one thing I remember that night, him being completely selfless,” Air Methods Flight Paramedic Nicholas Enos recalled. “I mean, he is sitting there in the worst situation of his life and all he kept asking was, how is my family, how is my wife? It wasn’t about himself… It speaks to his character, his unselfishness and we really want to have a hand for him.”
“This is something we don’t get to do that often,” Jeff Yost, a paramedic for Mercy Air Base 21, noted.
“A lot of times we’re with our patients for 20 minutes and then we hand them off to the hospital and we never find out what happens to them. But one day, he showed up at the base with his wife and we got to hear all about what had happened, what went down afterward and to see that he is doing great – a lot better than the last time he was in this helicopter.”
Beth Kueneman, a nurse with Air Methods who worked at local Mercy Air Base at the time of the shooting, added, “We’re very, very lucky that he is here with us today and we’re just appreciative that we’re able to come together to see the family and share in the joy that he is still here.”
Kyle Davis, who was on duty as the Mercy Air pilot that night, chimed in, “It means a lot that you guys came out and did this for us and it is nice to see you doing well.”
When it came to Gregory’s remarks, he focused on highlighting the professionalism of the valley’s first responders.
“There are no slackers in this group out here, at all,” Gregory declared. “Everything went just like clockwork. And if it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t be standing up here today.”
The shooter was apprehended that same night and was identified as Benjamin Talbot. He was charged with multiple counts related to the shooting and is currently out on bail.
Readers can find previous coverage of the shooting by searching for Talbot on pvtimes.com
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
