By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
On Thursday, 15-year-old Sophia Dibling met the good Samaritan who wrapped his belt around her leg to stop the bleeding when she was struck by a car on Ohio 25 north of Bowling Green.
She handed him a gift – a brand new belt.
“Well, would you look at that,” Logan Phillips, 23, said as he held up the belt.
“Thanks for saving my life,” Sophia, the sophomore at Bowling Green High School, said to the former stranger who stopped to help.
The two lives crossed on July 14, when Sophia was distraught and walked into traffic on Route 25 just north of Union Hill Road.
Moments later, a call came into the Wood County Sheriff’s Office about a girl with a severe foot injury on the east side of the road. When the Ohio State Patrol arrived on the scene, Phillips already had the belt tourniquet on her leg. Lifeflight was called to get the girl to a hospital quickly.
“This was a shining example of the impact a good Samaritan can have in the community,” Ohio State Patrol Lt. Matt Geer said as Phillips was recognized Thursday at the patrol headquarters north of BG.
Phillips had been headed home to Maumee after his day shift at the Wood County Engineer’s Highway Department when he saw a stranger in need. He pulled over and wrapped his belt around Sophia’s calf.
“He, without a doubt, saved that young girl’s life,” Geer said. “Only a handful of people stopped. It takes a special person to stop and render aid to someone they don’t even know.”
Phillips said he has never had medical training, but credited his mom, a nurse, for sharing her knowledge. As he humbly accepted the award, he was a man of few words.
“Hopefully people seeing this kind of thing will make them want to stop to help,” Phillips said.
Geer also showered Sophia with well wishes.
“We’re all thankful you are here,” Geer said. “There are a lot of people who care about you.”
Sophia’s mom, Kathy Dibling, apologized to Phillips for panicking and yelling at him as he was helping her daughter by the side of the road.
“He didn’t leave her side till someone else took his place,” Dibling said. “It meant so much that a random stranger would help.”
Even after Sophia was taken away by air ambulance, Phillips lingered to see if Dibling needed a ride to the hospital.
This is the first time for the Bowling Green post to award a good Samaritan award to a member of the public. Several of the troopers talked about the number of tragedies they respond to on a regular basis.
“We see the bad. This is a very good day,” said Sandy Wiechman, coordinator for Safe Communities of Wood County. “We’re just grateful you are here. We don’t get to come together on happy things very often.”
Dibling said Sophia, who still wears a boot and uses a walker, is expected to make a full recovery. Thursday was the teen’s first day of physical therapy.
Phillips said this wasn’t the first time he stopped to help a stranger. “I always try to stop when I can.”
Several troopers urged Phillips to consider a new career. “We are hiring,” Geer said.
But even if Phillips was interested, the timing wasn’t right. “My boss was here,” he said.
Phillips told Sophia that he hopes her grandmother will keep texting him updates on how she is doing. “I can’t believe you’re up and walking,” Phillips said to Sophia. “You’re doing great.”
Then he quietly left the patrol post. “I’m going to go back to work now,” he said.
