Lake County Sheriff Don Bell Hands out Citizen Lifesaver Award

It’s been a busy summer for Lake County Sheriff Don Bell, as he and his deputies have been responding to dozens of incidents, but in some cases regular citizens get involved and their heroic efforts save lives.

One of those individuals is Chad Killorn of Ravalli. Killorn came upon an accident on U.S. Highway 93 at mile marker 41.

“On August 16^th there was a motorist traveling along and came upon a crash at mile marker 41 and when he saw the traffic was still moving past it and that the vehicles were on fire, he stopped,” said Sheriff Bell. “He and some other citizens saw there was so much damage that they couldn't get the door open so they took that door off with a strap on the pickup and they rescued that man who was in the truck with a broken leg.”

Bell said not only did people like Killorn stop to help, but another driver filmed the entire episode on her cell phone.

He and some other citizens saw there was so much damage that they couldn't get the door open so they took that door off with a strap on the pickup and they rescued that man who was in the truck with a broken leg.

“It was quite heroic on his part,” he said. “We were grateful for the other citizens that stepped up and helped and grateful for the young lady that filmed that. So we could document this and what Mr. Killorn did.”

As the victim’s Chevrolet Suburban became fully engulfed in flames, Killorn and another unidentified man dragged the man to safety without a moment to spare. Bell said Killorn took a leadership role in directing the rescue effort.

Bell said he awarded Killorn the Lake County Citizen Lifesaver Award.