BOWDOIN, Maine (AP) — A Maine school bus driver and student saved an 80-year-old man trapped in a ditch under an overturned mower.
Connie Lailer was at the end of her bus route in Bowdoin on Wednesday morning when she spotted Edwin Tynes in a ditch, CentralMaine.com reported.
Lailer reported the emergency and then waded into the icy water to lift the tractor off Tynes with the help of a high school student on the bus, according to Transportation Director Adam Mayo.
Tynes had been clearing his driveway with a snowblower attachment when his tractor rolled into a ditch filled with icy standing water, trapping him underneath.
If it weren’t for Lailer, Tynes may not have survived much longer, said Cpl. Ian Alexander of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office.
Mayo said Tynes had been trapped in the ditch for 20-25 minutes before Lailer found him.
The Bowdoin resident was taken to a nearby hospital after officials found out he was suffering from hypothermia.
A hospital spokesperson said they had no information about his status as of Wednesday night.
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