By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
CONNEAUT — The father of a young Conneaut woman whose vehicle plunged more than 100 feet down a steep embankment late Friday afternoon urged City Council to correct safety problems at the accident site.
Donald Watson of Daniels Avenue said daughter Sara, 20, escaped serious harm “only by the grace of God.” Sara Watson was able to crawl from her compact car, but had to be hoisted up the cliff by rescue personnel.
She suffered a concussion and shoulder pain, probably caused by her seat belt, her father said.
Other motorists and school buses are put at risk by that stretch of road, which is unprotected by guardrails, Watson said.
“Somebody needs to check out where she ran off the road,” he said. “Something needs to be done with that section of road.”
Sara Watson was traveling north on Keefus, one mile south of Creek Road, when her small sedan left the road. The vehicle plunged down a steep embankment, coming to rest more than 130 feet below the roadway, police said.
Firefighters rappelled down the cliff to reach Watson, then lifted her out of the ravine using a harness system, officials said. Her father praised the work of firefighters, singling out Fire Station 1 firefighter Steve Sanford, who heard the alarm while off-duty and responded to the scene in his private vehicle.
Later, Sanford called to ask how his daughter was doing, Watson said. Other firefighters and police officers familiar to the family provided care and comfort, he said.
Ward 2 Councilman Charles Lewis agreed the situation needs attention. “There definitely needs to be something done there,” he said.
City Manager Robert Schaumleffel Jr., said the city will examine the site. “We don't want it to happen again,” he said.
In other business, Schaumleffel said Wednesday is the deadline for municipal employees to participate in an optional health insurance plan that could save the city $182,000 in benefits costs. Acceptance of the alternate insurance plan is key to Schaumleffel's balanced 2009 budget.
Another important aspect of the budget plan, a citywide wage freeze in 2009, has been accepted by two unions — police and firefighters — but rejected by the union that represents the city's service department employees and some clerical workers.
The city hoped to realize a $120,000 savings with an unanimous wage freeze, Schaumleffel said. Now administrators will make adjustments that could impact the departments that rejected the idea, he said.
Schaumleffel said he is waiting on late-breaking data regarding insurance costs and revenue before finalizing his adjustments. “It will affect where we have to go,” he said.
In a related move, council unanimously approved an ordinance that doubles the payment given employees who shun the city's insurance plan to $400 a month. “It hasn't been raised in some time,” said Finance Director John Williams.
Administrators hope the payment convinces more workers to consider medical coverage through a spouse's plan, saving the city some money.
Meanwhile, Schaumleffel said he will soon present a plan to purchase new budget accounting software for the finance department. The current system is obsolete and puts the city's records at risk, council learned weeks ago.
Williams said computer problems last week delayed preparation of some budget reports. “We're working through it,” he said.
