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Lever lifts tree

Wife rescue trapped husband

CHERRY VALLEY — A borough man pinned under a tree in a wooded area off Oneida Valley Road Monday evening was rescued by his wife and daughter using American ingenuity.

Patty Hortert knew something was wrong when her husband, Chris, was late coming home from cutting wood for their outdoor furnace at 3218 Oneida Valley Road.

“It was dark,” she said.

Going in the direction Chris was last seen walking, Patty Hortert yelled.

“I hollered. He answered,” she said.

Patty Hortert found her husband about 700 yards from their house about 6 p.m. A tree had fallen on to his legs.

His wife then called their daughter, Erin Lightner, 35, for help. Lightner’s husband called 911 at 6:21 p.m.

The two women used a log to lift the tree off Chris Hortert’s legs.

“Leverage works,” Patty Hortert said.

Her husband assisted them by telling them what to do. She said once the tree was pulled up, Chris Hortert pulled himself out.

The women were able to help him get in an off-road vehicle so he could be taken to the driveway to meet the ambulance.

“I didn’t think they could get back there with their equipment,” Patty Hortert said.

She said her husband’s right leg was broken.

Ryan Enscoe, second assistant fire chief of the Eau Claire Volunteer Fire Department, said Chris Hortert was treated for hypothermia since he had been trapped out in the cold weather for a couple hours.

Chris Hortert was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital, then transferred to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

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