Fallston Men to Thank Rescuers With Blood Drive

Two young Fallston men are looking to show emergency responders how grateful they are after members of local fire companies helped save their lives.

Josh Wilson and Brendan Weinhold are coordinating a blood drive in honor of Bel Air and Fallston fire company volunteers who helped them survive a serious car accident on Jan. 30, according to an announcement posted on Patch.

Around 8:30 p.m. that night, a Chevrolet pickup truck driven by 22-year-old Nicholas Joseph Lotz was westbound on Connolly Road when it ran through a stop sign, Maryland State Police said immediately following the crash.

At the same time, Wilson, who was 19 at the time, was headed north on MD Route 152 in an Isuzu SUV when the pickup hit his car on the passenger side, the release states. Weinhold was also in the SUV at the time.

Wilson was listed in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore following the crash, while state police said Lotz's injuries were not life-threatening, according to an ExploreHarford.com report.

"At that time, Josh received more than 15 units of blood, which saved his life," A facebook page dedicated to the blood drive states.

Wilson and Weinhold now want to thank the members of the Fallston and Bel Air volunteer fire companies as well as the team at shock trauma for everything they did that night, the announcement continues.

With that night in mind, the Fallston teens are coordinating with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive to be held 2-8 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Fallston Fire Hall, located at 2201 Carrs Mill Road.

"It was the EMTs from the Fallston Fire House that first responded at the scene of Josh's accident. They performed the steps that kept Josh alive long enough for him to get to Shock Trauma," the blood drive's dedicated facebook page states.

The event is open to everyone in the community who wishes to show their support for the local volunteer fire companies by donating blood.

In order to make donations as convenient as possible, those wishing to donate blood can reserve their time by logging onto the American Red Cross website here.

As of Thursday afternoon, 31 people had joined the event on Facebook.