Madison Township has saluted two Service Department employees who helped to rescue a landscaper whose leg got trapped underneath an overturned riding lawnmower. Assistant Supervisor Matt Price and Mechanic Tyler Coursen were honored during the Sept. 26 township trustee board meeting. Township Police Chief Troy Hager announced at the meeting that he was issuing letters of recognition for Price and Coursen, praising them for action the took to assist police during a Sept. 19 incident. It was on that date when the township Police Department and Madison Fire District were dispatched at about 9 a.m. to a location on Red Bird Road for a report of a landscaper who was injured while working. Hager said the landscaper had been driving a zero-turn riding lawnmower that overturned and pinned one of his legs under the machine. “The landscaper was mowing a private-residence lawn that abuts to a small amount of beach that (the residents) own,” the chief said, in an Oct. 2 email exchange. “The mower slid sideways in dewy lawn, and then abruptly stopped at the sand transition and rolled.” As police responded to the call at the northern end of Red Bird Road with sirens and lights, Price and Coursen had been riding inside a township Service Department truck in the vicinity, performing some of their morning duties. “And they saw (police activity) and came to the area to see what was going on,” Hager said. “I explained to them we had someone trapped underneath a riding lawnmower.” Price and Coursen didn’t hesitate to join Hager and a few other police officers as they walked down to the lakefront property where the accident occurred. Hager said police assessed the situation as they waited for a Madison Fire District rescue squad to arrive. Fuel from the mower was dripping onto the landscaper while his leg was trapped. At that point, police and the Service Department workers teamed up to take immediate action. “Matt, Tyler and myself, and three other officers, were able to lift the mower off of this gentlemen who was trapped underneath,” Hager said, at the Sept. 26 trustee board meeting. “His boss was able to pull him out to safety, and then the paramedics arrived.” Hager praised Price and Coursen for being proactive in aiding police at the accident scene. “Police and Fire, we respond to stuff like this all the time,” Hager said. “That’s not the job (of Service Department employees). But their job is this community. And they took it upon themselves to help somebody out.” Hager said the involvement of Price and Coursen made a big difference in freeing the landscaper from his predicament. “I would say, without them, we would have been struggling to get that guy out from underneath his lawnmower,” he said. Hager asked that the letters of recognition be placed into the personnel files of both employees. Trustee Peter Wayman said the actions taken by Price and Coursen showed that they truly care about their community. “So kudos to you two for helping out with that situation,” he said.