“Great act of Courage” protects lives of a woman and her children
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Monday, April 17th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – Being in the right place at the right time helped a family in distress recently. Union County resident Dustin Nipper had just gotten off work and was heading to a baseball game at Pioneer Park in La Grande when he noticed a vehicle in front of him, driving down Adams Ave near the movie theater, that appeared to be having trouble finding a parking spot, it was then that he noticed the vehicle, a Tahoe, nearly hitting two parked cars before continuing west on Adams Ave in a manner that appeared as if the vehicle would crash into Cook Memorial Library.
It was then that Nipper placed a call to dispatch and made the decision to follow the Tahoe.
As the vehicle proceeded up the hill on Highway 30, heading towards the freeway, Nipper witnessed the Tahoe skim the guardrail three times before a boy opened the back door yelling and pleading for help.
Witnessing this, Nipper made the decision to get in front of the Tahoe and force it to slow down which led to the Tahoe rear ending Nipper’s pickup before coming to a full stop.
The driver, who has not been named, was suffering from a medical emergency at the time that this situation took place. No injuries were reported by Nipper, the driver or the two children in the vehicle.
Deputy Jensen with the Union County Sheriff’s Office, who responded to the scene, said that “it was a great act of courage for Dustin to stop his vehicle in front of the other vehicle. He risked injury, a damaged vehicle to stop someone who was in need of medical attention and from injuring others or
crashing. Dustin took action to protect the lives of the children in the other vehicle. I know we appreciate what he did to save the lives of others.”
Officer Morehead with Oregon State Police sent a message to Nipper saying, “You did a good thing today and I am grateful you chose to act when those kids needed you.”
