STRUTHERS Team beats a path to victims

By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- Three days into this summer's school vacation, Michael Cole, 12, and a neighborhood friend were riding their bicycles. A block from his home, Michael got off his bike, lost his footing and plummeted over the side of a 100-foot cliff above Yellow Creek Park.Critically injured and covered with blood, Michael faded in and out of consciousness. He can't remember much about his accident, but he knows he didn't scream. "I was too scared to scream," he said.
Lucky for him, a Struthers police officer who lives in the neighborhood became suspicious when he saw two bicycles, but only one child, on Hopewell Avenue near Butler, where a guardrail and brush obstruct the view of the near-sheer drop-off in the park.
Called for help
Capt. Tim Roddy knew exactly what to do. He called for an ambulance, the fire department and the Mahoning County Traildogs, a team of volunteers who use four-wheel all-terrain vehicles to rescue and transport victims lost or injured in areas difficult to access.
The idea for the search and rescue team came about while Edward J. Villone, a Struthers police captain and ATV enthusiast, and three of his riding buddies were discussing the bad rap ATV owners often get.
"We wanted to create a positive image rather than listen to everybody complaining," Villone said.
Using their ATVs to benefit the community, Villone continued, might improve their image. So, he and his friends, Wayne M. Ray, Mark A. Trolio and Michael A. Melia, all of Poland, formed the volunteer search and rescue team.
Since the nonprofit organization was founded in 1999, membership has grown to include nearly 50 volunteers.
Mahoning Valley Traildogs is one of only a few ATV teams in the nation certified to search for, rescue and transport victims, Villone said. "We'll go anywhere if there's a way we can help."
The organization, which trains two or three times a month, has searched for lost children, corralled runaway cows, searched for a despondent man who left his house with a gun, and transported Michael from where he fell to a waiting ambulance.
Average calls a year
"We average six calls a year -- that's a conservative estimate -- but we've been getting more," Villone said.
President of the organization, Villone serves as base commander on every scene. After being notified of an emergency, he contacts the team leaders, who determine how many volunteers the situation requires and what equipment may be needed. Then, team leaders make the first calls in a telephone chain that allows volunteers to notify one another almost instantaneously.
"We don't want one person running down the list making calls because then they wouldn't have time to get ready and get their equipment together. It wastes too much time," Villone said.
Four Traildogs arrived on the scene shortly after 7 p.m. June 1 to help rescue Michael, three minutes after receiving the call, Villone said. "We had an unbelievable response time for that call."
At 7:07 p.m., the police department notified Villone. At 7:10 p.m., the Traildogs were on the scene, Villone said, reading from the report.
Five minutes later, Michael, stabilized on a backboard with collar blocks, was loaded onto a rack on top of a four-wheeler. The driver of that ATV followed behind two other ATVs as they cleared a path by knocking down tall weeds and small trees.
At 7:23 p.m., Michael was loaded into the ambulance.
About a half-hour lapsed from the time he fell until he was loaded into the ambulance, said Michael's grandmother and guardian, Jean Stombaugh. She still can't believe how lucky her grandson is to have survived.
When her three granddaughters, whom she also has custody of, told her Michael had fallen, she assumed he went over an embankment and rolled. "Where he fell was a complete drop-off," she said.
His injuries
Michael suffered a lacerated liver, broken elbow, broken wrist, concussion and broken palate in the fall and spent several days in intensive care. Also, three of his permanent front teeth were knocked out.
He has undergone two surgeries to repair his mouth and will need more surgery when he is older, his grandmother said, but he is expected to make a full recovery. "I think he's a very lucky, lucky little kid," she said.
Michael will spend the next several weeks at home, recuperating and reading get-well wishes from friends. Those who want to send cards may mail them to 59 Iroquois St., Struthers 44471.
The Struthers Police Department is the contact for Traildogs. To learn more about the organization, log on to www.traildogs.com.
kubik@vindy.com