LITCHFIELD, Ohio — After a widely-shared social media post and news reports by 3News, the Litchfield Fire & Rescue successfully located two good Samaritans who saved the life of a motorcycle crash victim.
The crash between a car and a motorcycle happened Thursday morning along OH-18 and Yost Road in Medina County. The motorcyclist, only identified as Mark after he requested privacy in order to recover, suffered a severe leg injury.
"If he would have had that arterial bleed for much longer, even in the amount of time that we got on scene, he probably would have bled out," said Litchfield Fire Chief Jason Davis.
Arterial bleeding is the most severe type of bleeding, which can lead to death in as little as five minutes, according to the Mayo Clinic's website.
As fate would have it, Marti Mackey was also on the road that day. "I was running late -- I have 5 children," she said with a chuckle.
When Mackey neared the crash site, a man was standing on the side of the road waving his hands for help. She noticed that paramedics and emergency vehicles hadn't arrived yet, so she pulled her car over. She had been certified in first aid, CPR, and AED, because of her job as a school bus driver, so Mackey figured that she might be able to help.
When she approached the motorcycle crash victim, she saw how severe the injury was.
"I noticed that his leg was really mangled, and it looked to me that it was severed, if not totally severed," she recalled. With the help of another woman, who asked to remain anonymous when contacted by 3News, Mackey used a male bystander's belt to fashion a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
It worked. Mackey credits the second woman for helping her to maintain calm during in a chaotic situation.
Soon paramedics and a medical helicopter arrived, and first responders took over. While the second woman stayed on the scene, Mackey was too scared to stick around.
"I was kind of terrified that I would watch him die, so I got in my car and left," she said.
"There was this mystery lady who helped save this guy's life," said Chief Davis. "And we thought it was super-important to get a hold of them and try to find them and let them be recognized for the life-saving actions that they took."
Less than 24 hours after making its public plea, the fire department learned the identities of the two women.
When word reached Mackey that Chief Davis was looking to find her, she broke down in tears after hearing that the motorcycle crash victim had survived, and is now stable at a local hospital.
"Because I didn't know if I had done enough," she explained, adding, "It's a little personal, because I'm a victim of narcissistic abuse, so for a long time, I've been belittled and put down, and thought I was nothing," she said, choking with emotion. "And to be able to use those skills that I had learned to save another person's life, means a lot," Mackey said.
"I was something. In that moment I was something," she said.
She's more than just "something" to one man and his family, who consider her a hero.
While the family wanted to remain anonymous, they were able to express their gratitude to the two women.
"We believe they saved that gentleman's life," said Chief Davis.
UPDATE: The daughter of the motorcycle crash victim reached out to 3News after our story aired to provide more information, now that family and friends have been notified, but declined to be interviewed at this time.
Kate Kisilewicz told 3News that her father, Mark Kisilewicz, is a retired firefighter/EMT. His injuries included a right wrist fracture, severe left wrist fracture, hip fracture and unfortunately, a left mid-femur amputation. She said he remains in good spirits as he is recovering from surgery and prepares for another.
"We are incredibly grateful for the two good Samaritans who came to my dad's rescue," she wrote. "There are no words strong enough to express our gratitude for saving his life."
Editor's Note: The below video features previous reporting on the search for the Litchfield Good Samaritans from May 8, 2022
More Northeast Ohio headlines: