LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — An Indiana State Police trooper is being credited with saving a man's life Sunday afternoon after a severe chainsaw accident in Crawford County.
According to ISP, trooper Blake Leary responded around 4:33 p.m. Sunday to a medical emergency at Wildridge Resort near Birdseye after dispatchers received reports of a 35-year-old man who had a "severe chainsaw laceration" to the leg.
Police said the man was bleeding heavily when dispatch received the call. ISP said Leary arrived within five minutes and applied a tourniquet to the man's thigh, stopping the bleeding before EMS arrived. According to the release, the man was later flown by helicopter to a trauma center.
The victim's wife disputed several details in the ISP release and said her husband's injury involved a skill saw, not a chainsaw. She said her husband removed his own belt and applied it to his leg within seconds of the injury, which she said stopped the bleeding before first responders arrived. And while waiting for help to arrive, she said two neighbors, a nurse and an firefighter, stayed with her husband.Â
The wife also said Leary didn't arrive within five minutes and got lost finding them. She said he had to be asked to retrieve a tourniquet and needed help applying it.
Additionally, she said her husband was taken to the hospital by ambulance, not helicopter. She claims the ambulance took about 45 minutes to arrive and did not use lights or sirens.
ISP spokesperson Sgt. John Davis said the information in the agency's release came directly from Leary's account of what happened. Davis said the initial 911 call was for a chainsaw accident, which is why it was reported that way Monday.Â
After reviewing the body camera video Tuesday, Davis said the victim had a belt around his leg when Leary arrived but was still bleeding. Davis said a nurse was present and helped Leary, but he followed his training in applying the tourniquet and "more than likely" saved the man's life.
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