Trooper risks life to save drowning motorist
Illinois State Police District 19 has released a new harrowing account of an Aug. 17 Hamilton County crash and credit Trooper Jason Blessing with saving the life of a McLeansboro man.
At about 8:30 a.m. Aug. 17, while on patrol, Blessing - a 13-year veteran of the force - came upon a 2012 Dodge Avenger that had driven off the roadway and into a flooded drainage ditch adjacent to a creek near state Route 14 and Hamilton County Road 100E, according to a release from the ISP
The vehicle was nearly fully submerged with its driver - Allen L. Klein, 54 - trapped inside. As the vehicle continued to descend, Blessing immediately and without regard for his own safety, tied a rope around his waist and swam out to the vehicle to rescue the motorist. In an attempt to assist the trooper, a passerby also swam out to the vehicle with a hammer and the two were able to break one of the vehicle's windows; however, by this time, the vehicle had become fully submerged.
Following his assistance to the officer, the Good Samaritan began experiencing difficulty swimming and had to be pulled to safety by Blessing with the help of another passerby. Once the Good Samaritan was safe, Blessing reentered the water and returned to the location of the submerged vehicle where he found the vehicle's driver floating face down and motionless. Trooper Blessing immediately pulled the driver to safety where additional passersby and an Illinois Department of Natural Resources officer rendered aid and were able to revive him. The driver was later transported to an area hospital where he was expected to make a full recovery.
At this time, it is not known what caused the driver to leave the roadway, the matter remains under investigation.
"This is an example of the public and police working together to prevent a tragedy," said ISP District 19 Commander Kelly Hodge. "I am especially proud of Trooper Blessing for his courageous efforts and for disregarding his own safety so that another could be saved."
Other agencies that assisted the ISP during the incident included the Illinois Department of Transportation, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, McLeansboro Police Department, Hamilton County Rural Fire Department and Benton Fire Department.