Off-duty North Lawrence firefighter and wife lauded for helping crash victim

The North Lawrence Fire Department is recognizing the actions of an off-duty firefighter who, along with his wife, came to the aid of a bleeding car crash victim on a country road.

In a post made on its Facebook page Tuesday, the department said Lt. Brandon Johnston and his wife Kelsey Johnston came upon the accident while traveling on state Route 171 outside Waynesburg . They saw a sedan and dump truck that had collided.

"They stopped to check on the occupants and found the driver of the truck to be unharmed. However, the driver (only occupant) of the car was seriously injured," the post said.

"They quickly retrieved a belt from a bystander and applied a tourniquet to the patient's leg while applying pressure to the wound to control bleeding," it said. "The bleeding was then controlled and they then performed a trauma assessment. The primary EMS service then arrived and took over.

"We take great pride in our members both on and off duty."

The crash happened at 8:40 a.m. Aug. 12 in Carroll County's Rose Township.

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A woman identifying herself as a family member of the injured driver commented on the North Lawrence Fire Department's post, saying the family is "eternally grateful" to the Johnstons and other first responders "for saving her life."

Quad Ambulance transported the 18-year-old driver to Aultman Hospital in Canton. The Ohio State Highway Patrol handled the accident.

"It shows there are people who are willing to reach out and save people in need," the relative wrote.

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Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Off-duty North Lawrence firefighter and wife lauded for helping crash victim