Six honored with Lifesaving Awards

by Dennis Dalman

editor@thenewsleaders.com

Six people – four public servants and two young women – were each given a Lifesaving Award from the Sartell Police Department at the Sept. 11 Sartell City Council meeting.

Sartell Police Chief Jim Hughes presented the awards, along with Sartell Fire Chief Jim Sattler. Hughes thanked them, adding they are excellent examples of how police officers, firefighters, first-responders and citizens work so well together to save lives.

Honored were officers Curt Grosz and Jake Walters, Sartell firefighters Dennis Ertl and Adam Imholte and the two young women, Madison DeMarais and Abigail Trelfa.

On June 16, 2016, Daniel Fleigle, a 16-year-old Sartell boy, and some of his friends were walking on the “Old Bridge” across the river at Sartell when Fleigle decided to climb all the way up the bridge scaffolding to the very top. At the top, he accidentally touched an electrical wire, which gave him a severe shock, sending him plummeting almost 30 feet to the wooden walkway below.

Two girls at the scene, Trelfa and DeMarais, called 911. Via phone, they were given CPR instructions by a Stearns County dispatcher. The girls started CPR on Fleigle until officer Grosz and firefighters Imholte and Ertl arrived at the scene. CPR continued, and a defibrillator was also used. The boy began breathing on his own.

Fleigle was then transported to the St. Cloud Emergency Room by Gold Cross Ambulance and later transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center where, despite his serious injuries, he made a full recovery.

Officer Walters was honored for his role in saving the life of a male who had overdosed on a drug in LeSauk Township. Walters arrived at the emergency and found the male on the floor with a faint pulse and not breathing. Walters, who discovered the male had injected heroin, gave the man an injected dose of Narcan (an antidote). Then 30 seconds later, he injected another dose of Narcan.

Hughes praised Walters for his quick response, his ability to discover what drug the man had taken and his expert use of Narcan in literally saving the man’s life.

On behalf of the council, Sartell Mayor Sarah Jane Nicoll also thanked the honorees for everything they do on a daily basis for safety and lifesaving, and she also thanked the young women for helping save the boy’s life.