by R. BRUCE MCINTYRE
Eganville Leader Staff Writer
CHENAUX —Luckily a woman who lost control of her vehicle on Chenaux Road near the Quebec border Tuesday morning was spotted by a concerned motorist and with his help, she remained calm while they waited on First Responders to arrive and transport her to hospital on a bitterly cold morning.
At approximately 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, Ursina Studhalter, 25, from Shawville, Quebec, had just crossed over the bridge on Chenaux Road on to the Ontario side of the Ottawa River when she apparently hit a patch of black ice and lost control of the 2007 Dodge Ram pick-up she was driving. She entered the ditch and collided with the rock face just before the entrance to the Hydro One roadway leading to the Chenaux dam. Her vehicle flipped over and she was trapped inside in an area barely visible from the roadway.
Gord MacGregor was on his way from his Foresters Falls home to Shawville, Quebec when he noticed a trail in the snow with tire marks heading into a bush near the rock face.
“I was driving to work when I noticed the tire marks and I said to myself, that sure would be a bad place to get stuck,” he said. “As I drove by I glanced in my rear view and I saw a single headlight coming from the ditch and I realized right away there was a car down there.
“So, I immediately turned around and drove back and made my way down to the rock face.”
As he made his way down the embankment towards the vehicle, he came upon Ms. Studhalter who was crying and scared and trapped upside down in the cab of the pick-up truck.
“I had no idea what kind of shape she was in, but because it was so cold, I was really concerned about her,” he said. “We called 911 right away and I stayed with her until help arrived.
“I took CPR years ago and we learned it was important to never leave a patient alone. I had my jacket and hat on, but my gloves were in my car. Even though it was really cold, I stayed with her and held her hand and just kept telling her help was on the way.”
He said another driver also stopped when he noticed Mr. MacGregor’s car on the roadway with its four-way signals flashing, and they kept her calm until help arrived.
A few moments later, members of the Horton and Renfrew fire departments arrived. Horton Fire Chief Randy Corbin credits the two departments with getting her out of the vehicle on a day with the temperature hovering around -28 degrees Celsius.
“We had about seven members on scene who assisted in the extrication,” he said. “We had to use the jaws-of-life to cut away a large section of the cab so she could be safely removed from the cab. She was relatively calm while they worked to get her out. Once extricated, she was treated by the paramedics.”
Commander Richard Luesink of the Renfrew County Paramedic Service, said the victim was transported to Renfrew Victoria Hospital.
“The lone female victim was assessed on scene with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries,” he said. “Our crews transported her to RVH and luckily, there were no additional issues due to the cold weather.
“If I can offer one bit of advice to people travelling on the roadways during this cold spell, it is to be prepared for an emergency. Being properly dressed with winter clothing is so important given the slippery road conditions caused by the extreme cold.”
Mr. MacGregor said it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
“I am just glad she is okay,” he said. “Ironically, we got a phone call here at Bristol Autobody from a man who was scheduled to bring in his girlfriend’s car to get a new battery and said he had to cancel because she was in a car accident. I told him about what happened and we realized it was her. He told me she has no broken bones and that is great news. She sure was lucky.”
