Date: Fri 10-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Richard-Van-Waalrijk-rescue

Full Text:

Local Man Plays Hero's Role In Chicago Rescue

(with cut)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Newtown resident Richard Van Waalwijk found himself in an unexpected role last

week in Chicago -- playing the part of hero for a handicapped woman who had

lost control of her motorized wheelchair.

Mr Van Waalrijk and Dan O'Brien, a co-worker, had just finished up a long day

of meetings in the Windy City June 30 and decided to unwind with a little

jogging along the banks of Lake Michigan. Suddenly, their peaceful lakeside

run was interrupted by the screams of 22-year-old Mariam Pare.

"All of a sudden, we heard, `Help, help,' and then we saw the wheelchair

rolling along at full speed right toward the lake," recalled Mr Waalrijk, a

life insurance agent with Northwestern Mutual Life in White Plains.

The Newtown resident lunged toward the out-of-control wheelchair and managed

to grab on to the front of it. However, he simply could not hang on and the

chair and woman plunged into the lake.

In disbelief, the Mr Van Waalrijk stared into the water, hoping Ms Pare would

rise to the surface. She never came up. As the Newtown resident struggled to

remove his shoes and watch, Mr O'Brien jumped into the six-foot deep water.

Standing 6'5", he was able to stand with his head above water. But while he

was able to lift the chair, he could not hoist the woman's head out of the

water. The chair was too heavy to hold up and it sank again. Finally, Mr

Waalrijk, lying on his stomach, managed to unbuckle the shaken but unharmed

woman and pull her to safety with the help of other bystanders. Moments later,

police and ambulance personnel arrived on scene, and after giving their names

to an officer, the two businessmen went on their way, thinking little of the

heroics they had just performed.

"We said, `Well OK, we did our job,' and went on our way," said Mr Van

Waalrijk, 40.

The next morning, the Newtown resident was watching the news on television in

his hotel room. To his amazement, the TV station had a story on the runaway

wheelchair. Even more amazing, however, was that a Chicago fire official

actually credited two off-duty cops and a lifeguard for saving the distressed

woman.

"They interviewed one officer who described what happened. He wasn't even

there at the time," Mr Van Waalwijk chuckled.

The two men were in town for a conference of the Million Dollar round table,

an organization for the top five percent in the insurance industry.

Ironically, just the day before, they had listened to a speech given by

Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed in a fall from a horse in 1985. The

celebrity, who also uses a motorized wheelchair, was on hand to accept a

$100,000 check from the Round Table on behalf of the American Paralysis

Association.

According to Mr Van Waalwijk, the Million Dollar Round Table, after hearing

about the incident on the lake, plans to donate $10,000 toward a new

wheelchair for Ms Pare.

Mr Van Waalwijk and his wife, Donna, have lived in Newtown since 1986. The

couple have two children, Jenna, 10, and Jaclyn, 7, and reside on Concord

Ridge Road.