Last night’s storm was deadly. A woman was killed on South Compo near Park Lane when a tree fell on her car, and right now — 8 a.m. Sunday morning — nearly half the town lacks power.
“06880” reader Bob Stoebe spoke for the town when he texted this message:
Lost power about 4 hours ago. Listening to my scanner and these guys are absolute heroes. I am in awe of what they are accomplishing in this incredible storm.
Westport owes an enormous debt of gratitude to our police officers, firefighters, Public Works employees, EMTs, CERT volunteers, utility crews, and everyone else who was out working on our behalf yesterday — and throughout the night — as we huddled indoors and hoped for the best.
To the Board of Finance: Whatever they want, give it to them.
To the rest of us: Whenever they need contributions, send as much as you can.
Thanks again, from all of us to all of you!
A typical scene, yesterday afternoon at the corner of Compo Road North and East Main Street. The driver in the vehicle escaped without injury -- though wires were down all around. (Photo by David Mortner)
Amen
This was really a crazy experience. Me and two friends were stuck driving during the worst time of the storm, Saturday afternoon. From North Compo to Salem, we saw random acts of heroism. Locals helping locals. It was a really great feeling to know that in a time of crisis people are kind enough to help others.
I was one of those random, local helpers at the corner of E. Main and N. Compo where the tree fell on the car. My house is right at that corner and I was among the first on the scene. My friend called 911 on her cell – an unmarked car arrived in minutes. Though I didn’t want to approach the car too closely because the tree had also pulled down power lines, my old EMT training kicked in and I yelled to the driver (who could hardly be seen through the tree’s evergreen branches) to remain in the car until emergency services arrived. He waved so I knew he was okay. The FD and additional police arrived within 5-minutes. All were great: the passersby, WPD, WFD. Even the trapped car’s lone driver remained in good spirits – he was the sales manager at a local car dealership – the car was a dealer car. The police even gave him a ride back to the dealership. Good stuff all around in what could have been a very tragic story – inches separated this lucky man from certain death. Thanks to all who helped as the storm raged.
Kudos also to CODE RED and their four alerts/updates during the storm and aftermath. The Sunday 6:00 a.m. call scared the #@$% out of me (though it was actually our new 7:00 a.m.) but getting the update was worth it.
PS- The car remains in the intersection with the tree still on top of it – too many other emergencies to deal with elsewhere but I’m sure everyone is working hard. The car and it’s tree have become quite a tourist attraction.
Thank you so much for your comments on “Westport Heroes.” I couldn’t agree with you more. When problems occur in Town many of our Town Employees are out there serving and protecting us. Also keep in mind that while these brave men and women are out there working on our behalf have left their families at home to fend for themselves. As a Westport Resident and Town Employee of 29 years and also the wife of Retired Police Lt. Robert L Hallock I think we should give them the respect that they deserve.