PATRIOT BREMERTON
7pm
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2014 | Vol. 17, No. 22 | WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
How five men saved another man’s life A cop, fireman, neighbor and two others stepped up BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Leslie Kelly/ staff photo
After a couple of months in rehabilitation for his injuries, Jack Doninger is back at home. He was at the wheel when his brakes went out and he ended up underwater.
He’s back on the road BY LESLIE KELLY
LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
He was just going to the post office to get the mail. But he ended up under water in Sinclair Inlet, at the bottom of Trenton Avenue. “It was just lucky that there were people nearby,” said Jack Doninger, 88, who was at the wheel of his wife’s 1991
Cadillac on May 8 when it went underwater. “I guess there was a crew that was testing boats for the Coast Guard and they came right over when saw me go in the water.” Indeed, that’s just what happened. Doninger, a resident of Bremerton, is now at home, after two months in a rehabilitation center where he was taken after
a few days in the hospital. He said he can recall almost everything that happened that morning. “I was heading down the hill and something went wrong with my brakes,” he said. “I couldn’t stop the car. I didn’t want to hit a house or hurt anyone and cause any more misery. So I steered right between the SEE DONINGER, A9
Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan says that real life isn’t usually much like the movies, but on May 8, when one of his officers, a fireman and three Good Samaritans sprang into action to rescue an 88-year-old man in Sinclair Inlet, it could have been a Hollywood script. “So often in this business, we say, ‘Well, it’s not like the movies,’ but sometimes it is like the movies,” Strachan said. “It is very much like the movies.” The five men, who rescued Bremerton’s Jack Doninger, 88, after the brakes on his Cadillac failed and hurled him into the sound off Bachman Park at an estimated 80 mph, were feted at city hall as heroes last week. Police officer John Bogen, firefighter Alex Magallon, neighbor Jim Deighan and SAFE Boats International employees Jenson Charnell and Jonathan Watkins, each played a role in saving Doninger’s life that day. “This incident required a number of people to immediately step up and make
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Firefighter Alex Magallon, police officer John Bogen, neighbor Jim Deighan and SAFE Boats International employees Jenson Charnell and Jonathan Watkins each went into Sinclair Inlet to help save 88-year-old Jack Doninger. an immediate decision to become involved and to do something really courageous,” Strachan said. “And the result of those decisions was that somebody’s life was saved. A person’s life was definitely saved because of the actions of individuals working together that included police, fire and citizens who stepped up when it was required of them.” Deighan, whose home sits above Bachman Park and Sinclair Inlet, was on a ladder cutting vines while his wife, Francoise, was weeding in their garden when they heard the Cadillac bottomout at the base of Trenton Avenue and then watched it sail into the water. “I saw it happen,” Francoise said. “The car was traveling so fast. I said to my
husband, ‘He’s going too fast. He’s not going to be able to stop.’” She then called 911 and Jim took off down the hill. He ditched his shirt, wallet and keys and went into the water to help the driver. SAFE Boats employees Jenson Charnell and Jonathan Watkins, meanwhile, were testing a boat nearby and also sprang into the water. Bogen and Magallon were on the scene quickly following Francoise’s 911 call and also went into the water. The group managed to get the window of the submerged vehicle down and cut the driver’s seatbelt to pull Doninger out. From there, they took Doninger ashore and began perform-
compromise.” Roy Runyon, who supported Option 2 before the rest of the council took it off the table only one week earlier, resurrected it and got vote support of Younger, Leslie Daugs and Mike Sullivan. “It seems to provide the best of both worlds,” Runyon said. Voting against them in the minority were Greg Wheeler, Jerry McDonald and Dino Davis. The effort to re-configure Washington goes
all way back to a 2007 subarea plan which envisioned one northbound and one southbound lane with street trees and a center median. But that plan, which later became known as Option 1, was based on a wider rightof-way than is available. It
SEE HEROES, A9
Council votes to reconfigure Washington Avenue BY KEVAN MOORE
KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Kevan Moore/ staff photo
Reconstruction calls for two northbound lanes, one south.
The Bremerton City Council vote to reconfigure Washington Avenue was much like the roadway itself, a real squeaker. The council, in a 4-3 vote, reversed course and chose the second of three options for re-aligning Washington Avenue near the Manette Bridge to improve pedestrian and bicycle access through the corridor. The council had ear-
lier eliminated Option 2, which calls for two northbound lanes and one southbound lane that will have bicycles and vehicles sharing the roadway while heading south. Most of the pedestrian and bicycle improvements will be on the east side of the street, along the water. Following testimony from several residents, council member Eric Younger said he had changed his mind and called Option 2 a “perfect
SEE WASHINGTON AVE., A9