Two policemen injured in fall at Bucks winery

A veteran Bucks County police chief and a young officer were seriously injured when they fell down an open elevator shaft late Thursday at a rural winery along the Delaware River.

Tinicum Township Chief James Sabath, 48, and Officer Mark Compas, 26, suffered numerous broken bones in the 30- to 40-foot plunge at Sand Castle Winery, Tinicum Officer William Mooney said.

Sabath and Compas were in stable condition yesterday morning before surgery at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Mooney said. Hospital officials would release no information.

The casualties severely depleted Tinicum's five-member police force, which already receives part-time patrol help from state police. Mooney said state troopers and officers from neighboring Plumstead Township would help fill the void.

Sabath and Compas were on routine patrol at about 11 p.m. Thursday when they spotted the security gate of the 72-acre winery open, Mooney said. They continued up the winding, paved drive to the massive, castle-like winery building, and saw a side entrance open, Mooney said.

"It was pitch black," he said. Sabath apparently stepped through the doorway and fell down an open freight-elevator shaft to the wine cellar, at least 30 feet below.

"He was screaming for help, and when the other officer rushed to assist, he fell in," Mooney said.

The injured men radioed for help, and were lifted out with ropes by volunteer firefighters from nearby Erwinna. With the lower tier of the winery's parking lot serving as a landing pad, the men were flown by helicopter to the hospital.

No intruders were found, Mooney said.

Yesterday, inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry examined the lift, known as a vertical reciprocating conveyer. No findings will be released before Monday, said David Smith, spokesman for the department.

Sabath, a Philadelphia native who spent his boyhood summers in Tinicum, joined the force in 1985, and became chief in 1995. Compas joined the force last month.

According to its Web site, the Sand Castle Winery's cellar was blasted 30 feet down in the ground below the castle, which held a grand opening last fall after decades of construction. The winery began selling wine in 1988.

The winery was open yesterday, but a female worker said none of the employees would comment on the accident. The doors leading to the elevator remained blocked by yellow police tape.

Nick Forte, chairman of the township board of supervisors, said the lift is just inside the doors.

"You open the door and there it is," he said. "It's a commercial lift, a platform that goes down to the processing area."

Forte said township officials were holding a series of meetings yesterday to discuss police staffing.

"We'll pull it together," he said. "My first and foremost concern is for our two officers in the hospital."