An elderly man fell through ice, Officer Jared Mattison saves another life
By Andrew Harris, photo taken today by Mel Hunt
At about 2:30pm, Allegany Fire Wire posted on Facebook: “Wellsville fire & ambulance, Island park by bridge, subject stuck in water.”
Shortly after that announcement the page dedicated to Allegany County first responders, publised that, “Pd has subject out of water.”
The Wellsville Sun spoke to Sgt. Chad Green about the incident that 911 dispatched to the police station at 2:28pm. Sgt. Green, who is also the School Resource Officer for Wellsville Central Schools, described the scene:
“A male resident of Wellsville, 77 years of age, was found in the river about twenty feet from shore at Island Park. Officer Jared Mattison broke through the ice(with his bare hands,) and brought the man to shore. Wellsville Volunteer Ambulance crews were waiting for the victim to begin administering aid. Mattison was assisted at the scene by Officer Ryan McKnight and a unidentified male. The unidentified male was about 18 years old and disappeared when the scene was secure.”
Officer Mattison was transported to Jones Memorial Hospital for evalution and had no serious injuries. The 77 year old male was also transported to Jones Memorial but his condition is unknown.
This isn’t the first time Officer Jared Mattison has saved a life while on duty in Wellsville. When asked how many times Mattison had been credited with saving a life as a Wellsville Police Officer, Green could only verify, “multiple times.” Below read the story from 2021 when Police Chief Tim O’Grady recognized Mattison for administering lifesaving CPR to a Wellsville man.
