Troopers called heroes for saving their colleague
Published: July 5, 2007
A state trooper who was badly injured in Sunday’s head-on crash in Lake Township might have died if it weren’t for the heroic actions of two fellow troopers, state police officials at Wyoming said Monday.
On a day police continued probing the wreck that killed two people, comrades lauded Troopers William Gross and Robert Rogers for pulling an unconscious Trooper Truman Brandt from the fiery wreckage on Route 29.
“There’s no doubt about it. They saved Truman’s life. They are heroes,” said Trooper Martin Connors, spokesman for state police at Wyoming. “If they didn’t act immediately, there would have been three fatalities.”
Troopers Gross and Rogers, both of the Tunkhannock barracks, were pursuing the vehicle that slammed into Trooper Brandt’s cruiser about 7:15 a.m. Two people in the fleeing vehicle — John Edward Reilly, 18, of Dallas, and an unidentified person — died at the scene.
As fire erupted and flames began to shoot as high as 50 feet in the air, Troopers Gross and Rogers worked to pull Trooper Brandt from the vehicle. As the blaze became more intense, they and passer-by Dennis Dobinick pulled Trooper Brandt to a nearby yard to escape spreading flames.
“They had to work at getting him out. They put their lives at great risk,” Trooper Connors said.
Trooper Brandt, who was flown to Community Medical Center, remains hospitalized in stable condition. He suffered multiple broken bones.
State police remain intensely focused on the investigation.
The chase began in Wyoming County when police attempted to pull the vehicle over for committing a traffic violation while passing an unrelated crash.
The vehicle was speeding south, trying to pass a car in the wrong lane, when it struck the cruiser driven by Trooper Brandt, who was traveling north to join the pursuit.
Guns and other valuables were found in the fleeing vehicle, which led to speculation the items might be connected to a burglary spree.
“Are these the Back Mountain burglars? We don’t know,” said Trooper Tom Kelly, spokesman for state police at Wyoming.
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