A Ram for a rescue

Man helps save teen, but truck damaged in speeding down rough road to call 911

COEUR d’ALENE — Nearly two weeks after being credited with saving a life, Chad Trinkaus and Inna Lavrador dismiss their efforts as something anyone would have done.

The only reason they were talking about it on Monday was because Chad’s mother called The Press.

Asked for details, Inna pulls up a message on her cell phone left by a deputy not long after the June 1 motorcycle crash and hits play.

The victim was no longer in critical condition, the deputy said.

“Doctors think the efforts you put in probably helped save his life. And the family was very appreciative,” the deputy said. “They couldn’t describe how thankful they were that you were there to help.

“I’m very happy that you were there and I’m thankful that you were instrumental in saving that young man’s life. Thank you for what you did.”

Chad Trinkaus shrugs as if to say no big deal. He said they went to a shooting range off Ohio Match Road instead of going fishing that day like they originally planned.

The Coeur d’Alene man noticed that afternoon how quiet it was, too, and there were few others around.

“I’m glad we were there,” he said.

Trinkaus, Lavrador, his fiancée and his daughter, Brooke, had been doing some target shooting, practicing with scopes, for a few hours when an older man ran up about 4:30 p.m. and said there had been an accident. Could they help? A teenager he was with was badly injured when he crashed on his motorcycle at a nearby ridge.

They raced around a corner and found the young man under a short bridge. He had suffered what appeared to be severe head and facial injuries.

“He was in bad shape,” Trinkaus said.

They dialed 911, but were beyond cellphone range, so Trinkaus and his daughter jumped in his 1998 Dodge Ram truck and roared down the potholed road to call for help. Lavrador and the man, meanwhile, stayed with the teen, holding him still to prevent further injuries and trying to comfort him.

“He wanted to get up,” she said. “He did not know where he was at.”

Trinkaus estimated he covered 3 miles in a few furious minutes.

“I got to cell service as fast as I could,” he said.

Daughter Brooke had two thoughts as they bumped, bucked and bounced down the road more suited for 10 mph than the 45 or 50 mph her dad was driving.

“I was scared,” she said. “And I thought, ‘We’re going to get a giant ticket.’”

Her father made the call and waited until help arrived, then led them back to the accident site. Rangers who had been in the area had also arrived.

A Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post said: “Deputies responded to the Hayden Creek area regarding a single motorcycle injury accident. The rider of the motorcycle lost control and crashed and was severely injured. Life Flight was called out to transport the rider to the hospital. Last report was the male was in critical condition.”

Trinkaus and Lavrador hope the teen, they were told his name was Nick, makes a full recovery.

‘I just so want to know if he is all right,” Lavrador said.

While the Dodge Ram Trinkaus has owned for seven years made it home later that evening, it didn’t go much farther.

The next day, Trinkaus discovered a muddle of transmission fluid under it and he could hardly get it out of first gear when he tried to drive it. He figures he must have damaged the Ram’s transmission when he blasted along the rough road, gunning it all the way.

“I didn’t pay attention, honestly, I just drove,” he said. “Unfortunately, something bad happened and it looks like I destroyed my truck in the process.”

He hasn’t taken it to the shop to be repaired, because money is tight.

“I’m not exactly a rich feller,” he said.

Still, he doesn’t regret sacrificing the Ram to make a life-saving race to call 911 for a teen.

“We were going to go fishing that day. Something made us decide to go shooting instead,” Trinkaus said.

“I’m not fuming mad because the truck’s toast,” he added, “because we did something good. It wasn’t for nothing.”