A heroic rescue last fall has led to accolades this spring.
Two local RCMP officers and one civilian have been recognized for their heroism in saving a man from drowning in a slough near Humboldt last fall.
On March 24, Const. Darryl Ness and Const. Samantha McInnis were presented with awards by Chief Superintendent Russ Mirasty, Commanding Officer of "F" Division - Saskatchewan - for the RCMP.
Ness received the Commanding Officer's Commendation and McInnis, the Commanding Officer's Certificate of Appreciation. Both awards were for the courage they displayed "while assisting in the rescue of a man suffering from a diabetic shock, trapped in a vehicle, submerged in a deep slough."
The awards to the two constables were presented at a Regimental Dinner held in Humboldt.
On October 5, 2010 at 9:13 a.m., Humboldt RCMP received a report of an erratic driver on Hwy. 5 in Humboldt. Ness and McInnis both responded to the call. Ness was just seconds behind the vehicle as it hit the eastern outskirts of the city.
The car had travelled less than two kilometres outside the city when it left the highway and plunged into a slough on the south side of the road.
Ashton Ries, a civilian, was already in the freezing water, trying to get the driver out of the sinking vehicle when Ness arrived. Between the two of them, they freed the man and swam him back to shore. McInnis arrived at the scene in time to help move him up the sloped shore.
The disoriented driver then indicated that there had been someone with him in the vehicle. McInnis then entered the water again, swam to the submerged car and searched it with her hands.
As it turned out, there was no one left in the vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle was later reported to be suffering from diabetic shock, which was the reason for his erratic driving and incoherence at the scene.
It was Staff Sgt. Jeff Harrold of the Humboldt detachment who recommended the two constables and Ries receive recognition beyond a pat on their backs for their efforts that day.
"It was an unusual incident. It certainly doesn't happen every day," Harrold said.
There is no real preparation for members when it comes to situations like that, he added.
"You don't get training in Depot to jump into a slough to save someone," he smiled.
"It boils down to the make up of a member, to put themselves in that level of danger to do their job and protect the public," he said.
By the nature of their jobs, RCMP officers are sometimes put in positions like this, and these two members definitely rose to the occasion, Harrold felt.
Harrold submitted the information regarding the crash to the F Division Awards committee, who then decided the two officers and Ries were deserving of these commendations..
The commendations are awarded "for demonstrating courage and bravery in the face of very dangerous circumstances which gave rise to the potential for grievous harm, bodily injury or death," states information from the RCMP.
"It all happened so fast. I think any one of us would have done the same thing, given the same set of circumstances," Ness noted. "It's a good thing to know that I made a difference.... I was honoured to receive such an award," he added.
"I was very honoured and humbled to receive this award," was McInnis' comment on the recognition.
Neither officer was expecting awards when they did their jobs that day, they noted..
"I am just glad that everything turned out okay in the end," McInnis said.
Civilian award
Ashton Ries of Humboldt, the 23-year-old who didn't hesitate to jump into freezing water to help someone, doesn't regret one bit what he did that day.
Ries, the son of Larry and Sharon Ries, was with a co-worker, driving from Muenster to Humboldt on October 5 when they saw a car drive into a slough on the other side of the road.
They pulled over right away, Ries said, and as they jumped out of the vehicle, he was ready to dial for help on his cell phone.
Told by a woman who had also stopped that she had already called the police, Ries switched gears. Knowing the co-worker he was with couldn't swim, and with a decade of swimming lessons under his own belt, he ran over and jumped in the water.
"There were three of us standing there. There was no else around," Ries told the Journal. "There were no lights coming, and the car was sinking. So I just went in."
It was cold, he admitted with a smile. It was October, after all.
Ries swam to the driver's door of the car, but could not get the door of the sinking car open. Luckily, the window was open a crack, just enough for Ries to be able to grab it.
"I grabbed it with both hands, reefed on it, and it cracked and shattered," he said.
Then he was able to get the door open.
By this time, Ness was there beside him. Together, they managed to get the man out of the car, after Ries went underwater to unbuckle the man's seatbelt, and pried the man's hands off the steering wheel.
They then swam him to shore.
"I never thought I was ever going to do (anything like this)," he said. "But I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Of the award, he said humbly, "it's a good honour."
Due to other commitments, Ries was not able to attend the regimental dinner to receive his award, also a Commanding Officers Commendation, and so was presented with it by Superintendent Darcey Davidson, Central District Commander, at the Humboldt detachment on April 8.
The award is signed by Mirasty.
