George W. Haas saved Glen A. Pattison and David G. Robertson from drowning, Kamsack, Saskatchewan, November 8, 2001. Pattison, 43, and Robertson, 58, were passengers in the cab of a pickup truck that was being driven by another man on a narrow, snow-covered road in a provincial park. The men had offered a ride to Haas, 59, farmer and retired miner, whose vehicle was a mile distant, and Haas was in the bed of the truck. The pickup slid from the roadway, then went down a steep bank, overturning, and broke through the ice of a frozen beaver pond at the base of the bank. It landed upside down in the pond, its passenger side about five feet from the bank, trapping Haas under the bed and the three other men in the partially submerged cab. Haas attempted unsuccessfully to open the pickup’s tailgate, then he submerged and went head first under the edge of the bed to clear the truck. When he tried to surface in the pond, he found that he was under solid ice. Striking the ice repeatedly until it broke, he surfaced to realize that the other men were still in the cab. Although he had taken in water and was in pain and nearly exhausted, Haas made his way to the passenger side of the truck and, with difficulty, opened the door. He pulled Pattison from the cab and helped Robertson out. The three men then extracted the driver, who was unconscious, and took him to the bank, where they tended him. Haas left the scene to alert help, then was taken to the hospital, where he was detained overnight for treatment of having nearly drowned. Pattison sustained bruises but did not require treatment, and Robertson required medical attention for his injuries. The driver did not survive.
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