“Cael is the Hero”: Father-son team, quick-thinking bystanders rescue unconscious motorcyclist from Ammon canal
Seth Ratliff
AMMON, Idaho (KIFI) — A motorcyclist is recovering after an accident Sunday night left him unconscious in a canal along Sunnyside Road. Thanks to the quick action of several bystanders and an off-duty first responder, both the driver and his passenger are safe.
According to the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened in the 5000 block of Sunnyside Road near the Ammon Cemetery.
Eyewitness Brady Wirick told Local News 8 that a motorcycle carrying two people left the roadway, causing the driver to lose control and launch both riders into the canal.
As the crash unfolded, Fire Marshall Scott Grimmett was heading home while his son Cael Grimmett was parked nearby at the intersection of Sweeder Range and Sunnyside, preparing to head back to work on a Wyoming ranch.
“All I saw was my son [Cael] sprinting along Sunnyside,” recalled Grimmett. “That’s when I saw the motorcycle on the side of the canal.”
Scott Grimmett says his son Cael was parked at the intersection of Sweeder Range and Sunnyside at Elkington Ranch, preparing to head back to work on a ranch in Wyoming. He says he had been heading home in his truck towing a trailer at the time, when he suddenly saw his son racing towards the canal.
“All I saw was my son sprinting along Sunnyside,” said Grimmett. “That’s when I saw the motorcycle on the side of the canal.”
While the female passenger managed to crawl out on her own, the driver remained unresponsive, face down in the water. Cael Grimmett leaped into the canal, flipping the man onto his back to keep his airway clear. Scott Grimmett joined him to stabilize the driver’s spine and hold him against the current, while Wirick and other bystanders jumped in to help anchor them to the steep bank.
Emergency crews arrived within three minutes. Working together, five bystanders and three sheriff’s deputies—along with an Idaho Falls Fire Department engine and ambulance crew—secured the driver to a spine board and collar before lifting him out of the canal.
Both the driver and passenger were transported to a local hospital. BCSO Sgt. Bryan Lovell confirmed that the driver’s injuries were non-life-threatening.
“Cael is the hero. Scott is a bad***,” said Wirick positively. “Also impressed how fast the first responders showed up!”