By Caden Perry
The Chippewa Herald, Chippewa Falls, Wisc.
LA CROSSE, Wisc. — La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office deputy Carsen Jahr and Holmen Police Department officer Walker Stoner were awarded Monday for saving a woman who was trapped in a burning car crash earlier in the month.
On Feb. 13, Jahr responded to a single-vehicle crash at North Bluffview Court in Holmen. Before arrival, dispatchers said a witness saw the driver struck a tree and was unconscious inside the locked vehicle.
Dispatchers then added that the vehicle’s engine had caught fire. A dashboard video from Jahr’s vehicle shows the deputy break the vehicle’s window, unlock the door and locate the driver without hesitation.
Dashboard video of La Crosse County Sheriff’s Office deputy Carstan Jarh opening the door to a burning vehicle as Holmen Police Department officer Walker Stoner runs to assist on Feb. 13.
Stoner arrived shortly after and helped Jahr lift the driver away from the vehicle after her seat belt was cut.
Jahr and Stoner provided stabilization efforts away from the blaze, treating the driver for compound fractures and moderate bleeding. Holmen officer Charles Fah also arrived and applied a tourniquet.
Fire and emergency medical crews showed up a short time later and took the driver to the hospital for care. The driver survived, and the officers’ actions are credited with saving the driver.
Sheriff John Siegel awarded Jahr and Stoner with Life Saving Awards on Monday during a ceremony in the sheriff’s office.
“I could not be more proud of the immediate actions and efforts of these two law enforcement officers. They are a positive reflection of the men and women who serve our communities,” Siegel said.
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