BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Editor

What could have been a tragic situation turned into a nine-year-old girl’s life being saved last month during the DTE Energy Music Theatre Magic of Lights drive-thru light display.
The girl accidentally became stuck in a seatbelt mechanism, causing her to begin to choke. Her parents pulled over, called for help, and two staff members, Rich Doran and Chuck Nelson, ran over to the car and were able to free the child from the seatbelt.
“I was working on a generator with my other tech from the venue when one of the parking attendants runs up in a panic and asks if anyone has a knife,” said Nelson, a Waterford resident. “I always have a Leatherman or Gerber on me. I say ‘yes’ and he tells us a little girl is trapped in a seatbelt. I take off running, as does the other tech, down the long line of cars to the minivan pulled off to the side of the road.
“The door opens on the minivan and that’s when the reality of the situation hits me. The girl, who’s maybe 10 at the oldest, isn’t just stuck in the seatbelt, it’s an automatic seatbelt that has wrapped around her neck. The first thing I see is her dad in the backseat trying to keep the belt off her neck. The next thing I see is her face, her eyes rolling back in her head, and her mouth wide open.”
“I opened the rear door so we could reach the seatbelt better,” added Doran, of Lake Orion. “Chuck and I both had a knife, but Chuck got his out first and cut the belt. We were there just doing our job.”
Sergeant Brian Bovee from the Independence Township Oakland County Sheriff’s substation presented Nelson and Doran with a Citizen Citation last month for their quick actions.
“That was quite a surprise,” Doran said.
Nelson went into more detail on the situation helping the girl, whose family name was not known or able to be reached.
“I’m not a small guy by any means, and I’m fumbling with my Gerber to get the right blade out,” said Nelson. “I’m trying to squeeze in the backseat when my tech says, ‘Can we go through the hatch?’ at which point I pop out of the minivan and start pulling on the hatch.
“Everyone was in a panic and the button got pressed too many times, so it kept opening and latching. I yelled for everyone to calm down and stop touching things. We get the hatch open, and I pull down on the seatbelt and start sawing away with the blade. It felt like an eternity, but it was probably 15 seconds. The seatbelt cut free and the little girl fell into her dad’s arms. She was in shock. Too calm to say or do anything. Her two little sisters were crying, and their dad was trying to calm and comfort all three of them.
“He must’ve said ‘thank you’ two dozen times.”
Even when Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, Nelson said his heart was still “pounding out of my chest.”
“I was in a daze for the next 2-3 minutes as fire and rescue made their way down the narrow drive,” Nelson said. “The girl and her mother were taken into the back of the ambulance to check the daughter out. I didn’t know what else to do so I started helping direct traffic. I wanted to wait to make sure the little girl was okay. A few minutes later, they came out of the ambulance and got back in their car with an all clear. My adrenaline was through the roof for the next hour. I could barely talk and what had just happened felt surreal to me. I told a few people just because I was trying to process if what had happened had really happened.
“I was in the right place at the right time with the right tools. Nothing more. I managed to stay mostly calm in an intense situation. When it came down to it, I stepped up and didn’t have to think about what the right thing to do was. It was obvious and required no thought. I just happened to get there first. I think anyone would have done what I did in that position.”
Doran said that if a similar situation ever arose again, he wouldn’t think twice.
“Would I do it again?” asked Doran. “Yes, I would do it again.”