Teen recognized for assisting at accident
October 17, 2018 at 4:56 p.m.
Teen recognized for assisting at accident
By David [email protected]
Town Marshal Joe Hawn honored Remington Swanson, 18, during Tuesday evening’s town council meeting.
Hawn called Swanson to the front of the council meeting and presented him with a framed certificate. Swanson was joined by Nolan Haines, 22, the motorcyclist who was injured in the Aug. 13 morning accident at the intersection of CR 250E and Pierceton Road, and an eyewitness to the accident, Trevor Ross.
Ross recounted, “On the day of the accident, I was in the car behind Remington, I believe, and I couldn’t believe it. … the car turned in front of you, but I saw it and I was three cars back. So both Remington and I jumped out of our cars and just basically Remington was absolutely amazing. He went, I think, above and beyond what I’d expect an adult to do. But he acted with valor and complete disregard to make sure this young man (Haines) was OK. I just basically stood there and I didn’t need to do anything because this great young man was there.”
Swanson said he just happened to be there. He used his shirt to help stop the bleeding to Haines’ arm. “I made sure the scene was safe and went out and did what I could to help and waited for help to arrive,” he said.
Hawn said when he got to the scene of the car-motorcycle accident, “It was amazing because I’ve been to a lot of accidents – obviously I’ve been 35 years in law enforcement – but when I got there Remington had already taken his shirt off and wrapped it around (Haines’) arm because, as you can see, he had substantial injuries. It was a lot of pain. I’m just shocked. The good Lord has blessed this young man (Haines) because I would have never guessed he would have been standing here like this today because he also broke his femur. He had substantial injuries. I mean substantial injuries.”
Hawn said what really impressed him the most was that the two young men didn’t really know each other, but when he arrived to the scene, kneeled beside Haines and started talking to him, Haines asked for Swanson.
“At that point I didn’t know who Remington was. I was like, ‘I don’t know. Who is Remington?’ And he goes, ‘He’s the one that was helping me. He was the one that was helping me,’” Hawn said.
He had Swanson come back over to Haines, and Hawn said Swanson continued to be “amazing.”
It was Ross who contacted Hawn and suggested Swanson be recognized in some way for going above and beyond.
Scott Swanson, Remington’s father, said Remington’s cool demeanor at the scene came from years of practice.
“I’m a first responder at a ski resort in Michigan. And so on the weekends that’s what I do, we work with accident scenes and take care of that. We’ve been doing that for 12 years, or something like that. Anyway, Remington has been going up with me from day one and working with us on the hill and seeing the whole thing,” Scott said.
At the first-responders’ annual refresher courses, they’d do all the first aid reviews and Remington always volunteers as a patient.
“He’s been backboarded more than anyone else on patrol. So he’s learned all the first aid, CPR and the whole thing. Also working with us on the hill, he’s seen it. Helped us with scenes and get stuff out of trauma bags. So he’s seen it all. He understands what you have to do in a situation like that, which is secure the scene and you can go in. I was pretty proud,” Scott said.
Before presenting Remington with the certificate, Hawn read a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., which he said struck him as what it meant for Remington to help Haines on that day.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”
In other business, the town council:
• Approved the 2019 budget at $5,270,253, a decrease of 3.54 percent from the 2018 budget of $5,463,702.
• Approved ordinances on first reading establishing yield signs at the intersections of Roy and Western streets and Southfield and Westwood streets.
• Learned Halloween trick-or-treating will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Heard from Fire Chief Mitch Titus that the Winona Lake Fire Department will have an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The public can visit with firefighters and learn about equipment and what they do. There also will be a little bit of food.
• Learned the Cardinal Services 5K event starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the park.
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Town Marshal Joe Hawn honored Remington Swanson, 18, during Tuesday evening’s town council meeting.
Hawn called Swanson to the front of the council meeting and presented him with a framed certificate. Swanson was joined by Nolan Haines, 22, the motorcyclist who was injured in the Aug. 13 morning accident at the intersection of CR 250E and Pierceton Road, and an eyewitness to the accident, Trevor Ross.
Ross recounted, “On the day of the accident, I was in the car behind Remington, I believe, and I couldn’t believe it. … the car turned in front of you, but I saw it and I was three cars back. So both Remington and I jumped out of our cars and just basically Remington was absolutely amazing. He went, I think, above and beyond what I’d expect an adult to do. But he acted with valor and complete disregard to make sure this young man (Haines) was OK. I just basically stood there and I didn’t need to do anything because this great young man was there.”
Swanson said he just happened to be there. He used his shirt to help stop the bleeding to Haines’ arm. “I made sure the scene was safe and went out and did what I could to help and waited for help to arrive,” he said.
Hawn said when he got to the scene of the car-motorcycle accident, “It was amazing because I’ve been to a lot of accidents – obviously I’ve been 35 years in law enforcement – but when I got there Remington had already taken his shirt off and wrapped it around (Haines’) arm because, as you can see, he had substantial injuries. It was a lot of pain. I’m just shocked. The good Lord has blessed this young man (Haines) because I would have never guessed he would have been standing here like this today because he also broke his femur. He had substantial injuries. I mean substantial injuries.”
Hawn said what really impressed him the most was that the two young men didn’t really know each other, but when he arrived to the scene, kneeled beside Haines and started talking to him, Haines asked for Swanson.
“At that point I didn’t know who Remington was. I was like, ‘I don’t know. Who is Remington?’ And he goes, ‘He’s the one that was helping me. He was the one that was helping me,’” Hawn said.
He had Swanson come back over to Haines, and Hawn said Swanson continued to be “amazing.”
It was Ross who contacted Hawn and suggested Swanson be recognized in some way for going above and beyond.
Scott Swanson, Remington’s father, said Remington’s cool demeanor at the scene came from years of practice.
“I’m a first responder at a ski resort in Michigan. And so on the weekends that’s what I do, we work with accident scenes and take care of that. We’ve been doing that for 12 years, or something like that. Anyway, Remington has been going up with me from day one and working with us on the hill and seeing the whole thing,” Scott said.
At the first-responders’ annual refresher courses, they’d do all the first aid reviews and Remington always volunteers as a patient.
“He’s been backboarded more than anyone else on patrol. So he’s learned all the first aid, CPR and the whole thing. Also working with us on the hill, he’s seen it. Helped us with scenes and get stuff out of trauma bags. So he’s seen it all. He understands what you have to do in a situation like that, which is secure the scene and you can go in. I was pretty proud,” Scott said.
Before presenting Remington with the certificate, Hawn read a quote from Martin Luther King Jr., which he said struck him as what it meant for Remington to help Haines on that day.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”
In other business, the town council:
• Approved the 2019 budget at $5,270,253, a decrease of 3.54 percent from the 2018 budget of $5,463,702.
• Approved ordinances on first reading establishing yield signs at the intersections of Roy and Western streets and Southfield and Westwood streets.
• Learned Halloween trick-or-treating will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
• Heard from Fire Chief Mitch Titus that the Winona Lake Fire Department will have an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The public can visit with firefighters and learn about equipment and what they do. There also will be a little bit of food.
• Learned the Cardinal Services 5K event starts at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the park.
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