Good Samaritan honored by fire department

Chief Mark Bunje

Last month, a 13 year old boy from Shoreline was riding his bike when he hit a curb and flew over the handlebars and into the road. Shaken, he quickly got up and tried to continue riding. An alert passerby in his truck saw the incident, and couldn't believe the teen wasn't more seriously hurt. He decided to follow the boy for a while, just to make sure he was okay.

Then he saw the boy get off his bike, doubled over in pain and clutching his abdomen. The good samaritan stopped, called 9-1-1 and proceeded to comfort the boy.

Once Shoreline Firefighters and medics arrived, they realized he could have serious internal injuries -- though he had no visible cuts, scrapes, bruises or fractures. Responders are trained to look at the "mechanism" of injury, and this set off alarms about what could be going on internally. The decision was made for a trauma transport to the hospital. Doctors moved quickly, and the boy spent several hours in surgery to repair life-threatening internal injuries.

Today he is fully recovered and back at school. But without the vigilance of the citizen -- the outcome could have been tragic.

Fire Chief Mark Bunje issued a commendation to Dave Goldstine this week... thanking him for his role in this happy-ending story.

"On behalf of every employee of the Shoreline Fire Department, I would like to thank you for being such an alert and caring citizen. 

"Your intervention when you saw a 13 year old boy fall from his bicycle has been credited with saving his life. 

"Fire and EMS response crews tell me that your vigilance, and recognition of the severity of the incident made a huge difference in the outcome for that young man.

"According to his Mom, he suffered severe internal injuries that could easily have been fatal if he had not been treated within a few minutes of the crash. Because of your concern, and your call to 9-1-1, tragedy was averted. 

"I am happy to tell you that the youngster is now healed and back at school -- and hopefully riding the streets of Shoreline a bit more carefully now. 

"I am proud to serve in a community where folks like you are willing to step up and take charge when safety is at stake. You helped us protect our citizens and do our jobs that day and we are all extremely grateful for that."