A Pontiac man received a certificate from MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais police on Feb. 6 for his effort helping a car crash victim breathe for nearly an hour before emergency services arrived.
On Dec. 13, a 35-year-old woman was driving a Ford pickup truck toward Aylmer on Hwy. 148 near chemin Terry Fox, when she collided head-on with a Lincoln SUV containing three people: a seven-year-old girl and a 58-year-old couple from the Pontiac.
The front end of the Lincoln crumpled, pinching the driver between the steering wheel and the seat. The other two passengers were in distress as well. But that’s where Christopher Martin came in, prying the two passengers out of the vehicle and holding the driver in place until the Pontiac Fire Department showed up with the Jaws of Life and got him out.
On Friday, the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais honoured him with a certificate for this act, in a ceremony at the Luskville Community Centre.
Martin said he was getting ready for work at the time of the accident. He saw that a crowd had gathered near his driveway, and discovered that the vehicles had spun off the road into the end of his driveway.
“The whole front of the car was folded like an accordion,” he said of the Lincoln when he first saw it.
Martin saw that nobody seemed to be doing anything to help the crash victims, so he jumped into action. His first priority was getting the young girl out of the car, telling his wife Melanie Beaudoin to “go call 9-1-1 and get me my crowbar.” Once he had pried open the rear door, he picked up the girl and carried her inside out of the cold.
Then, he said he went to get his neighbours, so they could all pry the passenger side door open with crowbars. Once they got the 58-year-old female passenger out of the car, she was having trouble breathing. He gave the woman his inhaler as she could not find her own.
Next, Martin went to help the driver, the 58-year-old man. “The guy was crushed into the seat. The whole front end was folded around him,” Martin said, adding that he wedged his way into the sunroof and managed to get his legs inside the vehicle.
He said the driver was trying to move, but he told him to remain still so that he could pry the seat apart and hold it apart to let the man breathe.
“I put my foot on either side of his head and tried to cram his seat back, so it wouldn’t crush him anymore,” he said.
When the Pontiac Fire Department finally showed up with Jaws of Life, Martin had been prying the seat open for nearly an hour. The driver was transported to the Hull hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The child and woman were also taken to hospital as a precaution but had no apparent injuries.
The driver of the Ford truck that collided with the Lincoln also sustained serious injuries. According to a statement sent from MRC des Collines police after the accident, she had a blood sample taken at the hospital as there was “reason to believe she was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.”
On Friday, after a swearing-in ceremony for two new MRC des Collines police officers, commandant Louis Piché delivered a speech thanking Martin for his act, which he said contributed to saving a life.
“Thanks to his quick and impactful intervention, the victim was able to breathe adequately and remained stable in a critical moment. Today we are officially recognizing this act of remarkable humanity [ . . . ] It is proof of solidarity, courage and neighbourly aid which keep our communities together,” Piché said.
Martin was accompanied at the ceremony by wife Melanie Beaudoin and mother-in-law Michele Beaudoin. Melanie said she was not surprised when she saw him leap into action.
“When I saw him on top of the car, I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course.’ It didn’t shock me at all that he was right there in it,” she said, adding that these sorts of incidents seem to follow Martin around.
Once, he fell on the ice on the stairs outside of their home and smashed his head on a post. Michele said one time, his dog got into a fight with the raccoon, resulting in Martin’s arm getting bitten and nearly needing an amputation.
Michele said he’s just that kind of guy, no matter whether it’s a stranger or a furry friend who is in trouble.
“He jumps right in all the time [ . . . ] he’s the kind of person who’s always there to help somebody.”
