Olson honored for slough rescue
Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler presents a life-saving award to Ole Olson on Tuesday. Also pictured are commissioners Dan McDonald, Glen Bailey and Jeff Connolly. (Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD)
SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man received a standing ovation Tuesday for saving the life of a motorist who crashed into a slough off Lake Pend Oreille last month.
Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler honored Ole Olson during a brief ceremony with county commissioners.
Wheeler said Marc McGregor crashed off Sunnyside Road on Dec. 16, 2016, and his Jeep plunged down a 30-foot embankment leading to the slough and landed on its side. Olson didn’t have a mobile phone to call for help so he trudged into ice-covered slough.
Wheeler said McGregor was cold, shoeless, injured and in a state of shock.
“The temperature at the time was 2 degrees Fahrenheit,” Wheeler said.
The Jeep’s engine had stopped and there was a mix of snow and ice in the vehicle’s passenger compartment.
Olson helped McGregor break out the windshield with their bare hands and Olson extracted McGregor. Olson then escorted McGregor to his vehicle to warm up and another passerby summoned authorities with their phone.
Wheeler said the crash scene on the rural road was not obvious.
“Mr. McGregor could have easily been gone without being noticed for a very long time,” said Wheeler.
McGregor had a decreased level of consciousness by the time emergency responders arrived and was ultimately flown to Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene for treatment.
McGregor suffered a broken neck, three broken ribs and a broken scapula. He was released from the hospital on Dec. 20 and his caregivers are forecasting a full recovery.
However, McGregor has to wear a cervical collar to stabilize his spine and cannot travel, which kept him from attending Tuesday’s ceremony.
McGregor provided Wheeler with a written statement expressing his gratitude for Olson’s confident competence during the rescue. McGregor said the honor given to Olson was well-deserved.
“The Sandpoint area has long been known for its angels. You are another example.
“Lying unconscious in a crumpled vehicle, on top of a frozen slough at the bottom of steep embankment with temperatures hovering around zero, the outcome could have been much different. I appreciate the significant possibility that I could have become a fatality,” McGregor said in the statement.