by Steve Stallone

Longshore Local 8 in Portland is reeling in the aftermath of a serious accident that sent one of its members to the hospital fighting for his life.

The Russian freighter Fermita called on the port to deliver a load of steel slabs Oct. 23. The job started working that morning, another shift worked that night and a third shift took over the next morning, Tuesday, Oct. 24. Down in one of the ship’s mid-hatches that day a couple of veteran ILWU longshore workers, Chuck Sadler and Dave Porter, and one casual, Wes La Riviere, were hooking up the loads with slings.

 The stow was uneven, the slabs checkered and feathered, making the work a little tougher. Still, they got the first few loads out without problems. But the eighth pick proved different.

That slab had another overlapping it on one end and when they went to lift it they found they were actually tied to another slab underneath it. The sling got caught on the deck so they lowered it and got another sling to try again. This time the overlapping slab on top kept it from going up and out again. Sadler and Porter tried to put some 4x4s between the slabs to relieve some tensions. As they were doing that, the slabs split the wood.

“When the wood split, it came up like a missile and hit Chuck right above the left eye,” said Porter, who was standing just a foot or two away from Sadler at that moment.

“I yelled out ‘Call 9-1-1, call an ambulance’ it seemed like even before he hit the ground because I could see as it hit him it was obvious he was hurt,” La Riviere said.

Sadler landed on his back, eyes fixed open and not breathing. La Riviere checked and he didn’t have a pulse. Then La Riviere saw Sadler’s body twitch. He turned him on his side and blood poured out of his nose and mouth. That must have opened his airway because then he started breathing. La Riviere held his head to make sure the airway remained clear and he kept breathing. He and Porter kept talking to him and trying to comfort him.

“I didn’t leave his side after that till the paramedics got there,” La Riviere said. “That seemed to take an eternity.”

Once the paramedics arrived they placed Sadler on a stretcher, hoisted him out of the hold and took him to the hospital where he underwent reconstructive surgery. As of press time Sadler’s condition was improving. He is still in a coma, but is sometimes breathing on his own. There is hope he will pull through.

“It happened so fast. You can never be prepared for what you’re going through and what you see, especially to see another guy you work with everyday,” Porter said. “I was right next to him. It could have been anyone of us. That’s the hardest part to deal with. I have six-year old twin daughters and I’d hate to not be able to be around.”

The local’s members have been standing by Sadler, who is 45 years old and has been a registered longshore worker since 1998. 
“We’ve been up at the hospital day and night and making sure the family is taken care of,” Local 8 Secretary-Treasurer Bruce Holte said.

Holte credited La Riviere, whose wife is a nurse and has had some first aid training, with keeping a cool head and acting quickly. The local is going to recognize him with an award.

“Wes is the real hero here,” Holte said. “If he hadn’t known what to do, Chuck would be dead.”