Seatbelts work for Erickson and Sam
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POLSON — “The title of this story should be ‘seatbelts work,’” David Erickson said.
Erickson and Donald Sam were at the Polson Fire Department to receive a Saved by the Belt award. Both men were wearing seatbelts when they were involved in accidents where they might have been injured or killed without seatbelts.
Sergeant Randall Owens of the Montana Highway Patrol nominated Erickson for the award. His accident occurred when he was headed to St. Ignatius on the morning of Dec. 7, 2010. Going approximately 65 mph, Erickson was between Mello Cove and M & S Meats when he hit a patch of black ice and rolled his Ford Ranger pickup.
Sam, nominated by Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Shad Andersen, wrecked on Nov. 16, 2010. Sam was on Jette Hill when he started fishtailing. He corrected and the next thing he knew he was going backward into the ditch. The vehicle rolled and flipped.
“There weren’t many body parts on his vehicle that weren’t injured,” Owens noted.
Sam was not injured in the crash, but his wife “freaked out” when he called her to come pick him up, ran up the stair, missed a step and broke her toe.
“I got home and kissed my kids,” Sam said, explaining he realized he had a lot to come home to every day.
Erickson and Sam each received a Saved by the Belt certificate and button and a one-year membership to AAA Montana according to Diane Ward, coordinator for Lake County Coalition of Buckle Up Montana.
