Lawn Service Owner Rescued By Hamburg Village Officers

Village of Hamburg police officer Sean Gallagher and Lt. Joseph Wittmeyer responded within a minute to a home on Brookwood Drive where 25 year old lawn service owner Anthony Bellanti was pinned underneath his tractor. 

Bellanti had slid down an embankment and overturned into a creek.  He was under the water when the officers arrived. 

Officer Gallagher and Lt. Wittmeyer, along with Bellanti's partner, were able to move the almost 2,000 pound tractor enough to pull the man out and revive him. 

"The first thought I had was I couldn't believe somebody was under there.  You couldn't see anybody or anything and with the size of that tractor and how heavy it was it didn't seem like it was gonna be moved, but it did, it got moved," says Officer Gallagher. 

Despite the weight of the tractor, Officer Gallagher and Lt. Wittmeyer didn't give up.  They also credit the homeowner and Bellanti's partner, Eric Lanc, for calling 911 immediately.

Bellanti was airlifted by the Sheriff's Air One helicopter to ECMC.  On Wednesday he was upgraded from critical to serious condition.