Utah teen is honored for saving man's life

BRIGHAM CITY — A Box Elder County teen, Michael Crouch, has been honored for his heroism after helping revive a man involved in a motorcycle accident.

"Sometimes, there are miracles that put us in the right place at the right time," said the teen's father, Blake Crouch, of Willard.

The Crouch family were doing what had become almost ritual — they were driving from Willard to Logan, where they were working on a cabin, during a weekend this past summer.

"We stopped at a different gas stop, and we had to get propane, so we were going through (Sardine) Canyon later than normal," Blake Crouch said.

While driving through the canyon that day, the Crouch family witnessed a near-fatal motorcycle accident.

The father found a spot to pull over with his travel trailer and his wife and son rushed to the side of the victim. The motorcyclist was not breathing and had no heartbeat. Even his skin lacked any sign of life.

Blake Crouch tried to call 911 but had a difficult time getting cell-phone service, so he had to flag down another driver to go down the canyon and make the call.

Meanwhile, Crouch's wife started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She quickly became fatigued, and their 16-year-old son Michael took over.

"With a resolve uncommon for a 16-year-old, Michael continued performing CPR. After several minutes, the accident victim began breathing," Blake Crouch recalled. "The breaths began as rumbling noises in his chest, then turned to slow and shallow gasps."

By the time police arrived about 20 minutes later, the victim was breathing on his own but had not regained consciousness.

"Michael stayed at the victim's side, talking to and encouraging him until the EMTs arrived," Crouch said of his son. "He maintained a positive attitude around the victim at all times."

Michael Crouch had just completed a CPR class offered at Brigham City Community Hospital four days prior to the accident.

"It was baptism by fire," his father said.

The motorcyclist, Nicholas Konecny, 25, of Centerville, was not wearing a helmet, and his injuries were severe enough that he was not expected to live through the night. However, the Crouch family recently learned Konecny has made a full recovery and has returned to work.

Last month, Michael Crouch received the National Heroism Award from the Boy Scouts of America. This award is given in recognition of an "attempt to save life with a measure of risk to self."

In a letter written to the Boy Scouts' Trapper Trails Council, Konecny said he does not remember the efforts made to save his life, but "because of Michael, I had a chance to recover, and most of all, I can live."

e-mail: amy@benewsjournal.cit