Driving along Mosquito Lake, James Baugh noticed a sled and fishing equipment on the frozen water, but no fishermen.
Nearby, Rod Schaaf noticed the same sled and no people as he drove. He asked his passenger and stepson Curtis Byers if they should turn around. ''He said, you gotta'.''
Certainly many others drove by and lots of those passersby noticed the same items on the ice. Baugh, Schaaf and Byers were different. They had the intuition to suspect something was amiss.
They also had bravery. When they exited their vehicles they discovered Don Hromyak had fallen through the ice, was unable to climb out of the frigid water and was frantically waving his arms in a desperate attempt to attract somebody who would save his life.
Baugh, Schaaf and Byers used a 20-foot towrope that Schaaf had in his vehicle to pull Hromyak to safety.
''It was pretty sickening,'' Hromyak said, ''especially when you can see the cars going by.''
Hromyak calls the three rescuers his angels. Yes, they are.
Driving along Mosquito Lake, James Baugh noticed a sled and fishing equipment on the frozen water, but no fishermen.
Nearby, Rod Schaaf noticed the same sled and no people as he drove. He asked his passenger and stepson Curtis Byers if they should turn around. ''He said, you gotta'.''
Certainly many others drove by and lots of those passersby noticed the same items on the ice. Baugh, Schaaf and Byers were different. They had the intuition to suspect something was amiss.
They also had bravery. When they exited their vehicles they discovered Don Hromyak had fallen through the ice, was unable to climb out of the frigid water and was frantically waving his arms in a desperate attempt to attract somebody who would save his life.
Baugh, Schaaf and Byers used a 20-foot towrope that Schaaf had in his vehicle to pull Hromyak to safety.
''It was pretty sickening,'' Hromyak said, ''especially when you can see the cars going by.''
Hromyak calls the three rescuers his angels. Yes, they are.