Ingleside teen assists after accident

A Ingleside teen had a chance to put his newly honed police skills to good use Wednesday night.

Mike Cashmore, 16, was headed home from his police Explorers meeting around 9:30 p.m. when he saw a bicyclist struck by a Chevrolet Astro van on Main Street in Round Lake Park.

Mike was the first person at the scene of the accident and said he stabilized the situation, kept onlookers away and instructed someone to call police.

"He was really freaked out but excited at the same time," said Mike's mother, Dene Cashmore. "When he told me, I couldn't stop laughing thinking about him out there. It's really cool he got to use his skills."

Mike's been with the Lake County Sheriff's Department Explorer Post 2066 for about a year and a half.

"My plan is to graduate in 2010, go to college, then try to become a police officer," Mike said. "My whole family has been involved in police work and it seems really rewarding."

Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said the bicyclist was hit at 9:32 p.m. at 30 E. Main St.

The cyclist, a 34-year-old Hainesville man, reportedly wheeled out in front of the van.

The man was taken to Condell Hospital in Libertyville. The driver will not be charged, Filenko said.

As far as Mike's assistance, Filenko said it demonstrates the value of the Explorer program.

"I compliment him on being responsible and quick-thinking," Filenko said.

The Explorer program was created by the Boy Scouts of America and is run by police and sheriff's departments across the country.

The program teaches 14- to 20-year-olds how to handle domestic calls, search warrants, accidents and other police procedures.

Mike said he wouldn't have known what to do Wednesday if it hadn't been for his instructor Sheriff's Sgt. John Crilly.

"Mike's willingness to assist others is a credit upon himself and the program as a whole," Crilly said. "Mike is very eager and the program is a stepping stone to full-time police careers for a lot of people."