By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
At a time when many people drive past strangers in crisis, or videotape a crime on their phones, there are still people who stop and help.
On Friday evening, local residents were presented with Black Swamp Humanitarian Awards for helping people in need. A few assisted friends or family – but most sprung into action for strangers. Some had been trained for emergency response, while some reacted purely on instinct. And some put themselves at great risk doing so.
Many of the award recipients denied being heroes, saying they just did what needed to be done. They encouraged others to respond when they see someone in need, rather than passing them by.
Since its inception in 1989, the Black Swamp Humanitarian Awards have recognized 473 people for their heroic acts.
The categories for the awards are Life Risk, Beyond the Call of Duty, Good Samaritan, and Service to Others.
LIFE RISK AWARD
Bruce Trout
On Nov. 22, 2019, Bruce Trout, of Bowling Green, was on his way to work at Gordon Lumber in Findlay when he came upon an accident at Ohio 25 and U.S. 6. One vehicle was upside down in the median.
Trout checked on the driver, who was not injured. But a northbound driver, who was trying to avoid a stopped car, failed to see Trout and struck him, nearly severing his leg.
An EMT on the scene used a bystander’s belt to stop the bleeding. The makeshift tourniquet didn’t create enough pressure to stop the bleeding, so Bowling Green Police Officer Tyson Richman used a tourniquet that all BG officers are equipped with.
“I remember looking down at my legs and seeing the paramedic cutting my pant leg off furiously,” Trout said. “I remember saying to him, ‘I’ve got a wife and a baby due in a week – so don’t let me die.’ Then I passed out.”
Trout was taken by air ambulance to Promedica Hospital in Toledo, where he was placed in a medically-induced coma for eight days. His left upper leg had been sliced to the bone, severing the femoral artery. In all, he lost 12 units of blood.
While he was in the coma, surgeons had to amputate his foot which was infected and gray from no blood circulation. Surgeons prepared his wife, Andrea, that they may have to amputate above the hip – making a regular prosthetic impossible. But the amputations finally stopped about 3 inches below his knee.
While Trout was on the trauma floor of the hospital, his wife moved into the maternity ward two floors above.
Trout was delayed in getting to maternity because he needed a blood transfusion. But with a team of hospital staff determined to make it happen, Trout arrived in time for baby Everly Mae to appear on Dec. 3.
“They wheeled me down. I saw every push,” he said. “I got to hold her (Andrea’s) hand. I got to cut the umbilical cord.”
As Trout received his award Friday evening, he held Everly Mae. “She played a big part in the will to survive,” he said, also crediting his wife, Andrea, and other family members.
Trout encouraged others to not ignore those in need.
“If you’re able to help, you should. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY AWARD
Officer Jesse Gomez, Officer Brad Dayton, Sgt. Katheryn Banks, Trooper Casimir VonSacken
Travis McDowell had ridden the Interstate 475 entrance ramp in Perrysburg countless times on his motorcycle. As he was leaving his business on May 13, 2020, he turned onto his normal route.
But on this night, McDowell rode off the left side of the roadway, was thrown from his motorcycle and hit a traffic sign.
“I don’t remember any of it – which is probably good,” McDowell said.
Perrysburg Police officers and Ohio State Patrol troopers arriving on the scene rendered care immediately – putting tourniquets on McDowell’s right arm and both legs.
McDowell, who lives in Perrysburg and owns a towing and recovery business in the city, spent 17 days in the hospital after the crash. He lost his right leg below the knee, and his left leg above the knee, and has partial use of his right arm.
Recognized for their efforts were State Patrol Trooper Casimir Von Sacken and Sgt. Katheryn Banks, and Perrysburg officers Jesse Gomez and Brad Dayton.
“Their actions undoubtedly saved Mr. McDowell’s life,” said Lt. Angel Burgos of the Bowling Green post of the Ohio State Patrol.
GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD
Dylan Torrey, Anthony Rivera, Hannah Alanis, Drew Rowe
Four young people who assisted an assault victim were recognized as Good Samaritans. Dylan Torrey, Hannah Alanis and Drew Rowe, all of Bowling Green, and Anthony Rivera, of Swanton, were honored for intervening during a felonious assault in downtown Bowling Green in the early morning hours of July 11, 2021.
Bowling Green Police Chief Tony Hetrick said it’s rare for people to put themselves in harm’s way to help a stranger. It’s more likely that people pull out their cell phones and start videotaping the crime, he said.
“These people jumped into action to help,” Hetrick said.
Rivera credited Alanis for taking the initiative to intervene when a large group of men knocked a man to the ground in the first block of North Main Street.
“I don’t normally characterize myself as a courageous person,” Alanis said. Afterward, several people told Alanis she should not have gotten involved.
“That’s absolutely wrong,” she said. “We should all jump in and try to save them.”
Alanis challenged those present to say, “If I see someone in distress, how can I help them?”
Police reviewed video of the initial incident, which showed a middle-aged man walking northbound away from a group of about nine men. At least six of the men were then caught on camera violently attacking the victim. They are shown dragging the victim to the ground, then continuing to punch, kick and stomp on the man. As the man laid on the sidewalk, the video showed the Good Samaritans – Torry, Alanis, Rowe and Rivera – running across Main Street to assist the unidentified victim and separate him from the assailants.
Once the original victim was no longer the focus of the attackers, Alanis and Rivera carried him off to safety away from the large brawl.
The video then showed the assailants turning their attention toward Torry and Rowe. Torry was slammed to the ground, then punched, kicked and stomped on while laying there defenseless. The footage then shows Rowe trying to pull the assailants off Torry, before the men turn on Rowe and chase him into the middle of the street and assault him. One of the rescuers reported he suffered a fractured jaw and several broken teeth.
Isaiah Clark, Aaron Gelb, Nick Schuerman, Michael Flipse, Austin Tolles
On March 23, 2020, Ohio National Guard Soldiers were on a mission in Lucas County. While traveling back to the unit’s home base at the Armory in Walbridge, the soldiers witnessed a single-vehicle crash and immediately acted.
“We knew it was a serious situation,” said Michael Flipse of Pemberville. “We wanted to help in any way possible.”
In addition to Flipse, others helping at the scene were Isaiah Clark of Grand Rapids, Aaron Gelb of Perrysburg, Nick Schuerman of Pemberville, and Austin Tolles of Deshler.
First on the scene, the soldiers headed straight for the vehicle to assess the situation and determined there was only one passenger.
“It was really an exercise in teamwork,” said Tolles. “I grabbed my pocket knife for Spc. Gelb to break the window, and together we extracted the driver from the vehicle and moved her to safety.
“There was obviously something wrong,” said Tolles. “The passenger was bluish in color and unresponsive, so we immediately accessed her airway, breathing and circulation and conducted sternum rubs in an attempt to regain consciousness.”
While the soldiers worked to regain the driver’s consciousness, other passersby remained on the phone with 911 dispatchers until law enforcement and paramedics arrived.
“We were just trying to do the right thing,” Flipse said as the men received the award. “We saw an emergency and went into action.”
Lainey Bingham
Cross country runner Lainey Bingham was just getting her stride in the first mile of a race, when she came upon trouble.
A competitor was on the ground in a wooded area. Without thinking, Bingham, from Elmwood, stopped in her tracks to help.
One of the struggling runner’s teammates and a couple of other girls had also stopped to assist. Bingham ran back to get an adult, then ran back to help carry the unconscious runner out of the woods.
Bingham didn’t give a second thought about continuing to race by the scene.
“These girls need help. I just can’t run by that. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that. I just knew that I needed to do something to help them,” Bingham said.
The runner who was down regained consciousness as the girls carried her to the coach.
“It didn’t surprise me that she’d do that,” Elmwood cross country coach Jason Barringer said.
In his seven years of coaching, he said he’s seen kids pass out on courses before.
“But I’ve never seen a group of kids just jump into action,” Barringer said.
Griffin Sperry
Griffin Sperry was leaving his apartment in Bowling Green to get something to eat when he witnessed a car that was smoking under the hood coming into the parking lot.
The driver parked the car underneath an awning, close to an apartment building. The people in the car popped open the hood and immediately the engine burst into flames.
Sperry was able to get the keys from the owner and put the vehicle in neutral and proceeded to push the car away from the awning and away from the apartment building.
There was no question that if not moved, the car would have ignited the awning as well as the apartment building.
Scott Beeker
On April 13, 2022, Scott Beeker, a Bowling Green refuse collection driver, assisted a citizen who appeared to be in distress. While on his regular route, Beeker noticed a person had fallen on their porch.
Beeker stopped and exited the vehicle to check on the individual and found the person was bleeding and unable to answer questions. Beeker quickly dialed 911 and remained on the scene until paramedics arrived. The resident was found to have had a seizure.
“Thanks to Mr. Beeker’s conscientious efforts and quick thinking, he greatly reduced possible serious medical complications,” Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher said when the city recognized Beeker’s actions earlier this year. “The mayor’s commendation is to acknowledge and recognize his significant and selfless act for the betterment of this community.”
“I was just glad to be there at the right place at the right time. Watch out for everybody,” Beeker said, reminding people to look out for each other.
Michelle Getzinger
On Nov. 8, 2021, Michelle Getzinger and her family were driving along Route 25 when they noticed an elderly woman walking and stumbling just off the edge of the roadway. The family stopped and Getzinger got out to care for the woman, alert authorities, and stay with the woman until help arrived.
Weston EMS was dispatched to check on the woman, who was scared and confused. She told the EMS that she had gone for a walk, became disoriented and could not find her way home. The woman had medical issues that required intervention, so she was transported by the squad to the hospital.
If not for the quick thinking and thoughtful actions of Getzinger, the story might have ended much differently, Weston EMS Chief Kathy Heyman said.
“My instincts just kicked in. I knew something wasn’t right,” Getzinger said as she accepted her award.
Angie Bradford
On Feb. 3, 2021, Angie Bradford sensed there was something wrong when she tried to deliver a meal to a senior citizen in Troy Township and found the door locked.
Bradford, director of food services for the Wood County Committee on Aging, was subbing on a Meals on Wheels route in the northeastern part of the county when she came to the home of the 77-year-old woman.
Having delivered meals to the home a couple times before, Bradford was surprised that the door was locked this time. She knocked and called for the woman inside, then heard stumbling in the house.
When the woman was finally able to open the door, Bradford could smell the gas inside. Bradford went inside and saw that a burner on the gas stove was turned on, but was not lit. She immediately opened windows in the home and called 911.
The woman told Bradford that she had been sleeping on the couch and wondered why she couldn’t get up. She surmised that when she reached for something in a cupboard over the stove, she inadvertently turned on the burner.
“I was just doing my job,” Bradford said as she accepted her award.
Dee Bates
In July of 2020, Dee Bates was on her route as a carrier for the Sentinel-Tribune, when she saw a strange glow along the horizon on Custar Road. As she got closer, Bates realized it was a fire.
By the time she and a friend, Kenny Yates, reached the house, the flames were 30 to 40 feet high. Bates feared there were children inside because she saw bicycles in the front yard.
While her friend ran to bang on the front door, Bates dialed 911. While shouting for anyone inside to get out, they heard voices from behind the house, where the residents had just escaped out the back door.
Yates helped the family dog get loose from his lead, which was attached to the flaming house.
The house was actually Bates’ family home from 1978 to 1999. That made it easy for her to tell Yates where the bedrooms were – but made it difficult since it was the site of so many childhood memories.
Aaron Brooks (not present to receive award)
On Nov. 11, 2019, Aaron Brooks, an Eastwood and Penta Career Center student, rendered lifesaving care to a motorist involved in a crash on Lemoyne Road.
Brooks’ sister was involved in the crash on a snowy road. She called her mom, and her brother responded immediately – wearing shorts, a T-shirt and flip flops. Aaron checked on his sister first to make sure she was OK, then noticed the driver of the other vehicle was injured.
As a member of the Troy Township Fire Explorer Group, he had fire training and basic skills. Brooks got into the vehicle with the unconscious driver, who happened to be a classmate of his.
Brooks took C-spine precautions to make sure there were no further injuries. He held that position until the firefighters could get the driver out of the vehicle. The driver was taken to the hospital with suspected serious injuries.
Brooks is credited with preventing further injury to his classmate until advanced care arrived.
SERVICE TO OTHERS AWARD
Kennedy Ingle
On May 28, 2021, Kennedy Ingle, who was 10 years old at the time, was visiting her grandma in the Weston area when her grandma began coughing and was unable to talk. Frantic and crying, Kennedy called her aunt and told her something was wrong with her grandma.
Her aunt feared for the worst, since the grandmother had previously had an aneurysm, has a pacemaker/defibrillator, and is diabetic. She called the Weston EMS, family members near the grandmother’s home, and rushed to Weston herself.
Kenney’s aunt called back to check, and heard the grandmother stubbornly say she didn’t need the EMS squad.
Once help arrived on the scene, the grandmother was still having difficulty breathing, and it was determined that she was choking on her dinner. She was taken to the hospital, where she was treated and released.
If Kennedy wasn’t there, her grandma may not have survived, according to her aunt.
“That’s scary when you’re 10 years old and your grandma is choking,” Heyman said as she presented the award to Kennedy.
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Also at Friday’s awards ceremony, Black Swamp Humanitarian Awards committee member Dean King was recognized for his behind the scenes work on the awards program for 30 years.
The awards are sponsored by local funeral homes, including Barndt Funeral Home, Hanneman Funeral Homes, Marsh and Marsteller Funeral Homes, Peinert-Dunn Funeral Homes, Smith-Crates Funeral Home, and Walker Funeral Homes.
