PennDOT Members to the Rescue                                                                                        

Council 13 members who were first on the scene when a small airplane failed to take off at Rock Airport.  (L-R) Dwight Ashbaugh L2107 Allegheny Co. Trades & Labor Dist. 11; Lawrence Hann L2127 Blair Co. Trades & Labor; Larry Patterson L2100 Erie Co. Trades & Labor; Eric Shingledecker L2100; Bratton Williams L2110 Westmoreland Co. Trades & Labor.

"None of us had to ask 'should we go'," said training instructor Dwight Ashbaugh.  "It was a mad rush to the scene."  (Even though they had to scale a 6' fence to get there.)  Once on the scene, they immediately stripped off their shirts to help stop the bleeding.  Eric Shingledecker, an EMT, was able to describe injuries to the 9-1-1 dispatcher.  When noticing leaking fuel, members were able to alert the injured pilot who was able to hit a switch to stop the fuel leak.

All five members will be honored with the governor's Star of Excellence on May 25 at the governor's mansion.

Photo below is from the scene.  Photo credit: Eric Felack.