Feb. 22, 2019 – West Bend, WI – “Right place, right time,” according to Brian Bell.
The co-owner of Cedar Lake Sales and his daughter Liz, 15, were presented with appreciation pins from retired DNR Wardens Rick Wolff and William Mitchell this week.
Bell said the story behind the story happened two weeks ago, Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Upper Peninsula in Bond Falls.
The father and daughter were snowmobiling and riding back on the trail along the road when they saw three emergency vehicles.
“The Michigan D.N.R. guy locked eyes with me, walked over, said there was a bad injury accident and asked if he could borrow our sleds to get to the scene,” Bell said.
The Michigan Forestry agent Zach Painter and conservation officer Josh Lopac with the Michigan D.N.R. loaded a defibrillator and some emergency gear onto the snowmobiles and they were off.
“That’s pretty much what we did,” said Bell.
For the next hour Bell and his daughter stood around listening to the scanner. “We heard they pulled her out on a sled and then we heard Flight for Life landing… somewhere,” he said.
The two officers returned and told the Bells, “You helped save a life today.”
Minimal information was released on the accident. For as much as Brian Bell could determine, a woman was seriously injured after crashing her snowmobile into a tree.
“All we were told is there will be a lot of recovery ahead of her,” Bell said.
In hindsight, Bell said the accident just reinforces the safety needed when out on a snowmobile or any motorized vehicle.
Photo courtesy Bill Mitchell.
