Allegan County Sheriff Frank Baker publicly lauded several local public safety officers for their roles in helping to save one life the the fatal wrong-way traffic accident last weekend on U.S.-131.
In a post issued Wednesday, Baker stated:
“I wanted to share some details regarding the tragic and unfortunately fatal traffic crash on US-131 Sunday night. This tragic crash could have claimed a second life if not for the efforts of our deputies, a Gun Lake Tribal police officer, and an officer of the Wayland Police Department.
“One of the vehicles, operated by the victim in this crash, caught fire with the driver still trapped inside. “The officers from the Gun Lake Tribal Police and Wayland Police Department arrived and found the victim’s vehicle had rolled over and was on fire. The officers, with great risk to their own safety, approached the vehicle and attempted to extricate the injured driver from the burning car.
“Deputies from the sheriff’s office also arrived and began attempting to extinguish the fire. They exhausted all their fire extinguishers and began flagging down semi-trucks, knowing they carry fire extinguishers on board, to further fight the fire. They were successful in obtaining an additional fire extinguisher from a truck driver and were able to continue fighting the fire and get the driver extricated.
“This is a great example of the cooperation and work being done by law enforcement here in Allegan County. Their efforts saved the life of this driver and the sheriff’s office will be recognizing their efforts with a formal award and ceremony acknowledging their work.
“The law enforcement officers who were involved are officer Josh Blanton of the Gun Lake Tribal Police, officer Jonathon Schaefer of the Wayland Police Department, deputy Ross Mysliwiec, deputy Rob Flokstra, and deputy Ryan Rewa.
“I would like to personally thank these fine law enforcement officers for their heroic efforts.”
Thank you Sheriff Baker for posting this information. To those officers involved – thank you for your dedication and efforts everyday to help and protect the public.
If you ever are pulled over by a police officer, be civil and kind, they are doing their job and deserve all our respect and cooperation.