By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The last time Jeremy Culp saw Stanley Szparka, he was performing CPR on him.
On Friday evening, the two men met again – this time celebrating Culp’s lifesaving act for a stranger. The two embraced and reminisced about the day when Szparka stopped breathing and Culp stepped in.
“I don’t remember anything,” said Szparka, 67, from Holland.
“I don’t really remember much,” Culp, of Bowling Green, said. “But I could tell the situation was dire.”
Four local heroes were recognized with Black Swamp Humanitarian Awards Friday evening in the atrium of the Wood County Courthouse Complex. Among those honored were Culp, Steve Queen, Jeff Ward and Dr. Christina Ellis.
Since its inception in 1989, the Black Swamp Humanitarian Awards program has recognized nearly 500 people for their heroic acts.
Culp had just returned from a fishing trip on the Maumee River on April 16, and was cleaning fish at the Perrysburg boat docks when he noticed an approaching boat that appeared to be out of control.
Szparka was experiencing a heart attack, and his fishing buddy took control and piloted the boat to shore.
Culp heard calls for help and called 911. Once the boat reached the shore, he began performing CPR on Szparka, who had stopped breathing. When a police officer arrived on the scene, Culp continued CPR with the officer, and assisted with the use of a defibrillator on the victim.
Perrysburg Township EMS arrived on the scene and took the victim to St. Vincent’s. Paramedics reported that Szparka had regained a pulse and was breathing on his own shortly before they departed for the hospital.
As he received the award, Culp said his experience working in a catheter lab and frequent training on CPR allowed him to help Szparka.
“You don’t understand how important it is until you have to use it,” Culp said of CPR.
“It was almost like auto-pilot,” he said.
After the ceremony, Szparka was surrounded by his buddy who got him to shore, Culp, and Perrysburg Township firefighters/paramedics Branden Abke, Brian Perkins, Mike Thompson and Chief Tom Brice – who described the dire situation that day.
“You mean I was dead?” Szparka asked.
Yes, briefly, Brice said.
“Bystander CPR is the key,” Brice added.
Steve Queen, of Grand Rapids, was driving down Euler Road on the morning of March 9, when he came upon a man lying in the middle of the road. The man was unresponsive, with his dog nearby.
Queen called 911, and was instructed how to perform CPR, which he did until a sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene and took over.
“I’ve never been so happy to see a sheriff’s car,” Queen said as he accepted his award.
The patient was transported to Perrysburg Mercy ER, where staff were able to get a heartbeat back. But unfortunately, he succumbed to his incident.
For his efforts to stop and render aid to a stranger, Queen was presented the Good Samaritan Award.
Jeff Ward, of Bowling Green, and his family were headed out to dinner on a cold, wet and windy evening on Feb. 16. As they drove down an icy Dunbridge Road, they noticed headlights ahead that appeared to be sinking. As they got closer, they saw a vehicle on its side in a deep ditch, submerged in water and sludge.
Ward stopped, went into the ditch and pounded on the bottom of the car to see if anyone was inside. He heard screaming, climbed on top of the car, and with great effort opened the driver’s side door. Ward helped the first woman get out of the car and to the road.
The second victim was unable to get herself out of the car. So Ward went into the vehicle, which was filling up with water and sludge. He found she was wedged in the bottom of the vehicle, and unable to unhook her seatbelt, so he used his pocket knife to cut the belt.
Firefighters arrived on the scene and gave Ward an attic ladder to put down in the vehicle to help the woman climb out. They then used the ladder to climb out of the ditch.
Both women were taken to the hospital for evaluation for injuries and frostbite.
Ward performed these heroic acts at great risk to himself. He was medically retired after an industrial accident crushed him underneath framing. He had surgery to place a device in his back to manage pain – and climbing into a car flipped in the ditch was risky in his condition.
Too modest to speak when accepting the award, Ward said after the ceremony that he had no second thoughts when helping the women trapped in the car.
Dr. Christina Ellis, of Perrysburg, was on her way home from her shift in the Tiffin Hospital ER, when she came upon a two-vehicle crash at Ohio 199 and Dowling Road.
She quickly assessed a father and son, who had minor injuries, then asked about the driver of the other vehicle. Several people on the scene were trying to open the driver’s side door, which was stuck. The driver was unresponsive, leaning forward, had agonal respirations, and was bleeding quite a bit.
EMS had not yet arrived, and Ellis was concerned that the position the driver was in could be occluding his airway. In order to stabilize his neck and open his airway, Ellis got on the hood of the car and crawled through the broken windshield. She was able to hold him in a position keeping his airway open.
When EMS arrived, the crew got a collar around the man’s neck. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to get the door off, and the patient was extricated and put in a Middleton Township ambulance. Ellis worked alongside the EMS crew, and assisted them with intubation of the patient.
The patient was flown from the scene, and later died from his injuries.
For her efforts to render lifesaving care, Ellis was recognized with the Beyond the Call of Duty Award.
“All too often anymore people aren’t willing to get involved,” Perrysburg Township Fire Chief Tom Brice said as he presented Ellis with the award.
Ellis said she relied on her training.
“I feel very lucky being able to help,” she said, praising the work of other first responders on the scene. “It felt good to be part of this community that works together all the time.”
