BRUDENELL – A Killaloe man is expected to walk again, despite being trapped underneath a 12 tonne skidder for more than two hours.
On July 3, Tom Sheridan was clearing trees on his property on Sheridan Road in Brudenell with his skidder, when the ground he was driving on gave way. The machine rolled over, pinning Tom underneath.
The 62-year-old was able to grab his cellphone and called his wife, Sue, the deputy CAO Clerk Treasurer for the Township of Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards. She was in the office at the time when she received the call.
“He said, ‘call 911’,” Sue told the Gazette. “He said, ‘the skidder is on top of me and I can’t get out.’”
She immediately phoned for help and drove to the property with KHR CAO/Clerk Treasurer Lorna Hudder.
They got to the site before emergency personnel and although she couldn’t see the extent of the damage past the embankment, Tom was responsive.
“I shouted for him and he shouted back to me,” Sue said. “I heard his voice so I knew he was alive.”
Fire crews arrived shortly after, followed by emergency personnel.
According to KHR Fire Chief Bob Gareau, the department was called-in to assist the Brudenell-Lyndoch-Raglan Fire Department at 10:02 a.m. on Friday.
Eight KHR firefighters responded, along with the rescue van, which houses much of the township’s heavy extrication gear.
“Once on scene, I collaborated with Deputy Chief of BLRFD, Jordan Genrick, to develop an extrication plan,” Gareau said. “Joe Holly was on scene and used his tow truck to stabilize the skidder from above to prevent further rollover.”
Get your July 8, 2015 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.