Nov. 25--By the time the rescue truck loaded with Mitchell firefighters arrived at a water-filled ditch near Country Club Lane, police were already well on their way to saving the life of the driver who had landed there.
They were roused by an emergency call that had come in from the Madison County Sheriff's Department, just before 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15. Capt. George Miller rounded up four Mitchell Volunteer firefighters -- Tony Copper, Ryan Staicoff, Albert Forrester and Matt Busby -- and headed out to the site, which is at the edge of their coverage area, between Glen Carbon and Edwardsville.
Miller learned that Paul Wanda, 61, of Glen Carbon, had careened into the ditch after having apparently fallen asleep. A woman who lives nearby had told investigators that she had been standing next to her bike at Country Club Lane and Bluff Road when Wanda's Volkswagen Passat missed the turn on westbound Country Club and plunged into about two feet of water.
Fortunately Steven Slemer, an off-duty Glen Carbon firefighter, was driving home from his job at the Phillips 66 Refinery and heard the emergency call. He stopped by and found the car upside down in the water, with the driver's window rolled down. Slemer reached in and placed his hand under Wanda's head to keep it above water. Sheriff's deputies Timothy Lawrence and Dennis Laboray were able to lift the car slightly to make that easier. When Lawrence and Slemer tried to pull Wanda from the car, his feet got wedged under the dashboard.
To keep the car from sliding back into the ditch, the firefighters set up the Res-Q-Jack, and Slemer and Lawrence worked to cut Wanda free from his seatbelt.
Then Lawrence and one of the firefighters managed to cut off the rear driver's side door and toss it aside.
"We knew Steve and the deputies were already in the ditch," Miller said Thursday in recounting the rescue. "We went into normal rescue procedure, which is what we're trained for."
The driver was pulled from the car and brought out to the road. The firefighters called for an ARCH helicopter, which only added to the drama. "The scene was pretty chaotic when we got there, and when you fly a helicopter in it gets even more chaotic," Miller said.
Wanda was flown to St. Louis University Hospital. Slemer, who has been with the Glen Carbon Fire Protection District for 34 years, changed out of his muddy clothes and headed to New Douglas for the monthly meeting of the Madison County Fireman's Association.
At the monthly meeting of the Madison County Board, on Wednesday, each rescuer was given a heroism award by the Sons of the American Revolution.
Lloyd Schwarz and Jim DeGroff recounted the episode and handed out the awards "in recognition of outstanding bravery and self sacrifice in the face of imminent danger, thus exemplifying the high ideals and principles which motivated and sustained our patriot ancestors."
The next day, Madison County Sheriff Robert Hertz said he appreciated the ceremony. "It's safe to say that had they -- especially Lawrence and Slemer -- not done what they did so quickly, the guy in that car would not have made it," he said.
"I agree with him a hundred percent," Miller added during a phone interview. "Steve was the true hero. Had he not stopped and helped that guy get his head out of the water, he wouldn't have made it."
Copyright 2013 - Edwardsville Intelligencer, Ill.
