The Abbotsford Police Board has awarded commendations to two local citizens.
Jesse Boyes and Michael Ercanbrack were honoured at the March 25 board meeting.
Boyes was recognized for having intervened in a potential drowning on July 10, 2013. He was walking on Discovery Trail at Wells Gray Avenue and McKinley Drive when he spotted a teen who had fallen down a 30-foot embankment into a pond.
The youth was suffering from a medical issue, and Boyes called 911.
Although the victim resisted Boyes’ assistance, Boyes was able to wrestle him to the shoreline. He continued to struggle with the victim to keep his head above water until police arrived.
The victim likely would have drowned without Boyes’ assistance, police acknowledged.
Ercanbrack was recognized for his role in an incident in the early morning of Sept. 3, 2013. At that time, he was driving his tractor in the area of Tolmie Road and No. 3 Road when the driver of a school bus alerted him to an upside-down truck in a water-filled ditch. The driver had attempted to get out of the truck, but he was unable to open the doors, and water was quickly filling the vehicle. Ercanbrack jumped off his tractor, was handed a hammer by a passerby, and waded to the vehicle.
He then climbed on top of the submerged vehicle, smashed the passenger window and pulled the driver to safety. The driver of the truck was not seriously injured and later advised police that he knew he was in real trouble and might not have lasted much longer if Ercanbrack hadn’t come along.
Police chief Bob Rich (left) and Mayor Bruce Banman (right) give a police commendation to Michael Ercanbrack, who saved a man from a submerged vehicle.