The young man airlifted on Sunday is in critical condition

A single-vehicle rollover accident on I-20 East at the Bovina exit caused a Vicksburg man to be ejected over 100 feet from the vehicle. He was airlifted by PHI helicopter to UMMC in Jackson with major trauma.

His name is Dillion Mabe. He is 28-years-old and is a recent transplant to Vicksburg. He moved here to be close to his then-girlfriend and now fiance, Chloe Pampanelli, 26. He had recently taken a good-paying job as an ironworker that allowed him to become the breadwinner of the young family. Dillion is an involved stepfather-to-be for Jace, 6, and Sienna, 2.

Jace, Chloe, Sienna and Dillion. Photo used with permission.

The accident occurred just after 10 a.m. in the eastbound lane of I-20 just before the Bovina exit. The vehicle rolled over a couple of times and Dillion was ejected more than 100 feet from the vehicle causing some major trauma. An eyewitness to the accident was a medical professional, the unidentified woman was able to render assistance to Dillion almost immediately after the accident. There is no doubt this as yet unnamed person improved the chances of Dillion surviving.

Michele Felberg was on the ambulance that was dispatched to the scene and she is one of the most highly qualified EMTs in the area. Fire Boss Jerry Briggs was also there with his 30 plus years of EMT and rescue experience. There is no question that Dillion would not have survived the accident scene if it wasn’t for the care of the unnamed medical professional who rendered assistance at the scene along with the highly capable Felberg, Briggs and Rescue team.

The accident scene and the SUV Dillion was driving. Photo used with permission

A PHI medical helicopter was dispatched to the accident. Medical helicopters are specially designed for major trauma patients and can keep them alive until they can get to a trauma-equipped emergency room. The EMTs on those helicopters are some of the best in the world.

According to Chloe, after arriving at UMMC, Dillion was immediately put on life support. Basically, the whole upper right side of his body was broken with an initial assessment revealing severe head trauma, especially to the right temporal lobe, fractures in his neck and back along with bruising on his lungs from broken ribs. After doctors were able to stabilize him they found swelling on his brain along with several small bleeds in his brain. He had an inner ear fracture that was causing his ear to bleed.

Sometime in the evening, they woke Dillion up from the sedation to check for brain function and Dillion tried to grab the tubes out of his mouth, a sure sign that his brain was functioning. They had also by this point determined his collar bone and hip were broken as well. He has cuts and scratches all over.

Later they moved Dillion to neurological ICU for close observation. They put him in a medically induced coma in an effort to allow the brain swelling to go down. He was placed on a ventilator because he wasn’t able to breathe on his own. Overnight they had a scare as his blood pressure dropped but they were able to get it back up and they are weaning him off of the medicine used to stabilize his blood pressure as it levels out. The doctors have made the decision to wait until they can get him off the ventilator and his brain swelling goes down before they do any surgery on him.

Dillion and Sienna. Photo used with permission

Earlier today they woke him from the coma to check his brain function and the doctor reported to Chloe that he saw promising responses.

Dillion’s father died at age 28, the same age Dillion is right now. Dillion has said many times if he makes it past 28 he can breathe. His birthday is next month.

Dillion was the breadwinner for this young family. Chloe will, understandably, not be working during this uncertain time for Dillion. The family has set up a fundraiser on Facebook to help cover expenses while Dillion heals. Please consider donating what you can to assist the family during their time of need.

Dillion Mabe, 28, breadwinner, father.

The Vicksburg Daily News will keep you updated on the situation as more information becomes available.