FARMINGTON – Several members of the Lane family of New Vineyard, a New Vineyard firefighter and a Franklin County deputy were recognized Friday by Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. for their part in saving the life of a Canadian truck driver on Dec. 23, 2015.

Franklin County dispatcher William “Bill” Hoyt has also been nominated for the Critical Call of the Year Award from the National Emergency Number Association, Stan Wheeler, director of the Regional Communications Center, said. Hoyt handled the 2:55 p.m. 911 call and kept rescuers on task to provide lifesaving care to Charles Bolduc prior to medical professionals arriving.

Bolduc, 21, of Cookshire, Quebec was severely shocked when the boom of his grain truck struck power lines while delivering grain to Shady Lane Farm in New Vineyard. He didn’t have a pulse or heart beat when members of the Lane family reached him, Amie Lane said after the awards ceremony.

Lane, her mother, Becky Lane, and two nephews were in the garage when the lights flickered three times before they went out completely.

One of the children, Mason Rowe, 11, went out to see what was going on and came back to say the driver of the grain truck was on the ground. Family members went into action.

Becky Lane called 911, while Amie Lane went to the driver. Nicholas Rowe, 9, was sent up to get his uncle, Ernest Lane, who had just refreshed his CPR training. Amie Lane turned the driver’s head out of the mud so he could breathe.

She had previous training on CPR and she did chest compressions while her uncle Ernest Lane did the breathing. After a while, Becky Lane handed the phone to Ernest so that he could hear directions from Hoyt.

Lt. Susan Lambert of the New Vineyard Fire Department arrived on the scene before Cpl. Matthew Brann and a crew from NorthStar EMS ambulance could arrive. Lambert took over chest compressions. Once Brann arrived he recognized the dangerous situation of an energized area and he others moved Bolduc away from the truck, Nichols said.

Brann gave help with CPR and used his automated external defibrillator from his cruiser. He and those he was working with got a weak pulse in Bolduc.

It was a “whole chain of lifesaving events,” Nichols said.

The care didn’t stop there.

Martin Lane, Becky’s husband and Amie’s father, arrived and called Bolduc’s family, which owns the grain delivery company, to advise them of the situation. He also drove the family to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

“It is clear that Charles Bolduc had an angel on his side,” Nichols said.

Nurses at CMMC referred to Bolduc as a miracle patient, he said.

If one link of the chain had not occurred, Bolduc would not have survived, he said.

Nichols presented Lifesaving Certificate’s to Nicholas Rowe, Becky Lane, Martin Lane and Michael Lane. Amie Lane, Ernest Lane and Sue Lambert received Lifesaving Medals.

He presented Brann with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office’s Meritorious Service Medal. 

“The Sheriff’s Office and the people of Franklin County are truly blessed to have citizens and county employees who are willing to rise beyond the ordinary,” Nichols said. “These small awards are just a token of our appreciation for all they have done and continue to do.”

It was a very stressful situation, Amie Lane, 27, said after the ceremony.

“If I could go back, I would have started CPR sooner,” she said. She waited for her uncle to arrive, which was within seconds of finding Bolduc on the ground.

When Charlie backed his truck up he lifted the boom, Lane said. He got out to see if he was close enough to the grain bin. He needed to get closer. He thought the boom was low enough to go under the electrical lines. When he inched it backward, the metal ring on the boom touched the wires, she said.

When she and her uncle were giving him CPR, his body was so warm she could smell the burning odor, she said.

“Out of the whole thing I made a friend,” she said. “I still talk to Charlie.”

Bolduc is back delivering grain but his parents are keeping him in Canada for now, she said.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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