Friday, December 23, 2005

OPP OWE A BOUQUET OF “THANK YOU’S” TO LOTS OF SAULT PEOPLE

Sault Ste Marie, Ont., Sault Ste Marie OPP would like to take this opportunity to thank several citizens, a local Sault Ste Marie business and Sault Ste Marie City Police officers for their assistance at this weeks snow machine crash.

On Tuesday 20 Dec 2005 eighteen year old Tristan Anderson was badly injured in a snow machine crash on a closed snow machine trail just outside the Sault Ste Marie City limits. As this week unfolded we were informed of a quick thinking and great efforts by lots of people to assist getting Mr. Anderson out of the bush and to the ambulance as fast as possible.

One of the fellow sledders that were with Mr. Anderson took one of the two ambulance attendants into the scene on his own snow machine. The second attendant was left with the ambulance waiting for assistance to get the stretcher/back board some 2 kms into the scene.

Sault Ste Marie City Police officers, who were at the scene, immediately thought of the snow machine equipment that the TRADING POST at Great Northern Road and Forth Line, have for sale. One of the City police officers knew that there was a snow machine toboggan for sale at the Trading Post. A second Sault Ste Marie City police officer went to the business and explained what that they would like to use the toboggan for this rescue. The Trading Post allowed the City Police officer to take the equipment for the rescue.

Another City police officer called one of his family members who lived nearby. His family has a snow machine and he told them to get to the area right away. The son of the officer arrived on his machine and took the second ambulance attendant into the area of the crash.

While at the scene the City Police officers encounter a problem trying to get the borrowed rescue toboggan into the crash scene. A resident of Old Goulais Bay Road, Mr. Larry McDonald, brought his snow machine to the officers and they were able to hook up the rescue toboggan to his sled. A city police officer then drove Mr. McDonald’s sled, with the rescue toboggan, into the crash site.

The injured party was loaded onto the borrowed toboggan and snow machine and brought out to the roadway and loaded onto the ambulance.

Sault Ste Marie OPP would like to thank the many people whose quick thinking and generosity helped to get the injured eighteen year old out of the bush and to the hospital as fast as possible.

THANK YOU !!