Beej
July 14th, 2005, 20:16
I can only hope my kids would have the salt-of-the-earth wherewithal to accomplish this. Amazing story (http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=e103f227-746f-497b-90e7-f566d74137b4).
Here's the whole tale:
8-year-old drives truck to save trapped father
Sister, 7, stays to comfort Saskatchewan farmer pinned beneath piece of machinery
ANGELA HALLCanWest News Service
Thursday, July 14, 2005
An 8-year-old boy, whose father was pinned beneath heavy farm equipment, rescued him by climbing behind the wheel of the family pickup and driving several kilometres for help.
Family and neighbours are hailing James Amell and his little sister, Neely, as heroes for their role in saving their dad, Don Amell, a 39-year-old farmer.
Neely, 7, comforted her father while James navigated the hilly rural roads in search of a neighbour on July 6.
Amell had taken his kids to an unoccupied farmyard about 10 kilometres east of Big Beaver, a tiny Saskatchewan village near the U.S. border, to pick up a combine header, a crop-cutting apparatus that attaches to a combine.
The 7.2-metre-long piece of equipment was on a trailer that had a flat tire.
"I tried pumping it up first but it wouldn't hold any air, so then I got a jack and I blocked everything up," recalled Amell, back at home after six days in a Regina hospital.
When he removed the tire, the blocks, which were on ground softened by recent rains, gave way under the enormous weight.
"When I looked up the whole thing was coming down on me, on my left leg, and just pinned me there," he said.
James and Neely, who had been waiting in the truck, began screaming and ran to their dad.
"The two little jiggers, they're trying to lift the weight off me saying, 'Pull your leg out, Dad, pull your leg out,' " Amell said.
"There's nobody around for a good four or five miles. I said to my boy, 'James, you're just going to have to take the truck and find somebody.' "
James perched himself on the edge of the seat of the Dodge Ram 2500 in order to reach the pedals. He set out on an eight-kilometre drive to a neighbour's place - only to find nobody home.
He headed back to his dad, who, lying in pain in the blistering sun, gave him directions to other neighbours, Boyd and Emily Sjogren, about five kilometres away.
The whole experience was "scary" James said yesterday. "I just kept on going," he explained.
At one point, the back wheel of the truck went into a ditch.
"I had to put it in four-wheel drive, I'd seen my mom and dad doing it," said James, who'll enter Grade 4 in the fall.
James found the Sjogrens at home and calmly asked for help, directing them back to his father, where Boyd jacked up the header to free Amell.
Amell, who'd spent about 90 minutes pinned to the ground, had his left femur broken. He also suffered puncture wounds.
He and his wife, Shannon, marvel at the strength of their young children.
"We brought them in the world and they helped keep their dad in this world. I'm glad I had them with me that day," Amell said.
Regina Leader-Post
Here's the whole tale:
8-year-old drives truck to save trapped father
Sister, 7, stays to comfort Saskatchewan farmer pinned beneath piece of machinery
ANGELA HALLCanWest News Service
Thursday, July 14, 2005
An 8-year-old boy, whose father was pinned beneath heavy farm equipment, rescued him by climbing behind the wheel of the family pickup and driving several kilometres for help.
Family and neighbours are hailing James Amell and his little sister, Neely, as heroes for their role in saving their dad, Don Amell, a 39-year-old farmer.
Neely, 7, comforted her father while James navigated the hilly rural roads in search of a neighbour on July 6.
Amell had taken his kids to an unoccupied farmyard about 10 kilometres east of Big Beaver, a tiny Saskatchewan village near the U.S. border, to pick up a combine header, a crop-cutting apparatus that attaches to a combine.
The 7.2-metre-long piece of equipment was on a trailer that had a flat tire.
"I tried pumping it up first but it wouldn't hold any air, so then I got a jack and I blocked everything up," recalled Amell, back at home after six days in a Regina hospital.
When he removed the tire, the blocks, which were on ground softened by recent rains, gave way under the enormous weight.
"When I looked up the whole thing was coming down on me, on my left leg, and just pinned me there," he said.
James and Neely, who had been waiting in the truck, began screaming and ran to their dad.
"The two little jiggers, they're trying to lift the weight off me saying, 'Pull your leg out, Dad, pull your leg out,' " Amell said.
"There's nobody around for a good four or five miles. I said to my boy, 'James, you're just going to have to take the truck and find somebody.' "
James perched himself on the edge of the seat of the Dodge Ram 2500 in order to reach the pedals. He set out on an eight-kilometre drive to a neighbour's place - only to find nobody home.
He headed back to his dad, who, lying in pain in the blistering sun, gave him directions to other neighbours, Boyd and Emily Sjogren, about five kilometres away.
The whole experience was "scary" James said yesterday. "I just kept on going," he explained.
At one point, the back wheel of the truck went into a ditch.
"I had to put it in four-wheel drive, I'd seen my mom and dad doing it," said James, who'll enter Grade 4 in the fall.
James found the Sjogrens at home and calmly asked for help, directing them back to his father, where Boyd jacked up the header to free Amell.
Amell, who'd spent about 90 minutes pinned to the ground, had his left femur broken. He also suffered puncture wounds.
He and his wife, Shannon, marvel at the strength of their young children.
"We brought them in the world and they helped keep their dad in this world. I'm glad I had them with me that day," Amell said.
Regina Leader-Post