A man was found trapped in his vehicle in Lower Burrell, Pa. on Feb. 18.Photo:CBS Pittsburgh/YouTube
CBS Pittsburgh/YouTube
“I’m glad I was there,” says Michael Tutolo, who was walking his goldendoodle, Oliver, on the morning of Feb. 18 in Lower Burrell, Pa., when they came across a red Jeep in a frozen drainage ditch. When Oliver kept barking and didn’t want to leave, Tutolo realized someone might be trapped inside.
“I’m glad I didn’t give up because, who knows, I don’t think he would’ve made it,” Tutolo tells PEOPLE.
Tutolo wasn’t sure if a person was in the iced-over Jeep, but Oliver’s continuous barking made him think someone might be in the vehicle. When Tutolo returned to his house, he asked his wife to call 911. The call led to the rescue of Lawrence Conklin, who was later treated for hypothermia but is expected to fully recover, according toCBS News.
The elderly man had been in his car since 5 p.m. the evening before, according to the outlet. Conklin’s daughter told CBS News that her father, who didn’t have a cell phone on him, was traveling to see a friend when a drop in blood sugar may have led to the accident.
The vehicle was found 200 yards off the road, according to the outlet. Stuck near a hedge of trees, the Jeep was approximately a quarter of a mile away from Tutolo’s home. The 68-year-old retired IT professional thought he’d seen lights out on the property the previous evening but assumed it was some locals riding quads, he says.
At around 7:30 am the next day, he took Oliver out for their routine walk. Oliver, a 2-year-old rescue that Tutolo adopted about a year ago, ran straight for the Jeep, his owner says. Tutolo couldn’t see inside the vehicle because the windows were so “foggy,” he says, but he did see that the brake lights were on.
A man was found trapped in his vehicle in Lower Burrell, Pa. on Feb. 18.CBS Pittsburgh/YouTube
Just 10 degrees outside, Tutolo couldn’t open the car doors. Meanwhile, Oliver refused to leave.
“When I tried to go back up over the hill, I pretty much had to drag him,” says Tutolo. “So, I said, ‘There must be somebody in there.’”
Within 20 minutes of calling 911, police arrived on the scene. Tutolo estimates it took 45 minutes for the local fire department to remove Conklin from the vehicle.
“They couldn’t get the doors open either,” says Tutolo of the rescue team’s efforts, “so they had to smash the windows.”
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Once Conklin was removed from the vehicle, the rescue team had to use a Stokes basket and a rope system to get him to flat ground, according to CBS News. He was then sent for treatment at the local hospital.
“His car was running for a while, but when we got there the car was either out of gas or shut off,” said Lower Burrell Fire Deputy Chief Scott Gloer, according toWPXI. “He was definitely showing signs of hypothermia.”
There’s one lesson Tutolo hopes people will take from the scary incident.
“Reach out and help other people,” he says. “I’ve always done it. Always will.”
source: people.com
