Westminster MA - postal worker with scanner saves man
trapped under machinery
Postal worker becomes a true hero
By dschneider@sentinelandenterprise.com
By Dorothy Schneider
Friday, November 12, 2004 -
WESTMINSTER -- Harold Doss never thought of himself as
a hero.
But the Westminster resident fell easily into the role
last week when he arrived first at the scene of a
horrible accident along his mail route in Lunenburg.
Michael Murray, 38, of 21 Maple Parkway, was fixing
the axles on an air compressor Friday morning when the
piece of industrial equipment collapsed on top of him.
Doss heard about the accident on the police scanner he
keeps in his mail truck.
He realized the house was just ahead on his route, and
made a split-second decision to go help.
"I saw this white flash over my head, if you can
believe this, and it said, 'Go and help the guy,'"
Doss said. "It was like God was talking to me."
When Doss got to the scene of the accident, he saw
Murray trapped under the compressor.
"He was in bad shape," he said, noting that Murray had
turned blue and purple from the crushing weight on top
of him. "I sized up the situation and figured out what
I had to do."
Doss got a hydraulic jack from the garage and began
setting it up underneath the compressor. At that
point, Lunenburg Police Officer Ernest E. Gould
arrived at the scene, and the two men lifted the
machine and pulled Murray out.
Murray's breathing was shallow and Doss said they
could feel a faint pulse.
"We didn't think he was alive, but he was," Doss said.
He and Gould were just beginning mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation when rescue workers arrived and took
over.
Murray was taken to UMass Memorial Hospital in
Worcester.
Doss credits his experience in the Korean War for
training him to respond quickly in emergency
situations. He served near the border of North Korea
and South Korea for more than two years in the late
1960s.
"That all came back within 30 seconds," Doss said.
Even though Doss wasn't sure there was hope for
Murray, he knew he had to do something to try and
help.
"You don't think about it," he said. "Your instinct
just takes over."
"Regardless of whether we'd done it right or wrong, we
did the best we could," he said.
Doss grew emotional Wednesday afternoon talking about
Murray and the accident. The 23-year post office
veteran said he feels close to every person on his
mail route.
"I know their homes and I know the people and I love
them with all my heart," he said.
Doctors believe Murray will make a full recovery, Doss
said, but the road will be long.
"He was a strong kid," Doss said. "Strong and healthy,
and that's what saved him."
Doss and several Lunenburg police officers were
honored this morning for their heroic actions in a
ceremony at the Lunenburg Post Office.