Good Samaritans rescue man from fiery crash on Massachusetts highway
Two retired nurses sprung into action Saturday afternoon on a Massachusetts highway, helping pull a man out of a burning car seconds after they watched his vehicle roll over at least six times.
The horrific crash that played out right in front of them on Interstate 495 in Wrentham led to many strangers coming together to lift the driver out of the front passenger window as flames emerged from the engine compartment.
“It was good to see everyone working together to get him out,” said Arnold Kawadler, 72, who was first on the scene with his wife Ellen, 68. “That joint effort working together is sometimes missing in the craziness of this world.”
The driver was “very lucky” that he only suffered injuries to his fingers and hands in what could have easily been a deadly wreck, Ellen said.
“He was damn lucky he could get out of that car and walk,” added the retired nurse from Sharon. Her husband, Arnold, is also a retired nurse.
“Seeing that his only injury was to his left hand and fingers was amazing,” she added. “He got away lucky.”
The Sharon couple was on I-495 north near the exit for Route 1A in Wrentham on Saturday after they had finished some housework with a friend.
All of a sudden, they saw a car in front of them drift to the left and hit some dirt, which kicked up a lot of dust. Then, the car rolled over six or seven times before coming to a rest in the middle of the highway, Arnold said.
Arnold immediately pulled to the side of the road, and the retired nurses ran over to the car, which was lying on its side. Meanwhile, a fire broke out under the car’s hood.
“I just bolted over to see if anyone was inside,” Ellen said. “Being a nurse practitioner, I just wanted to make sure everyone was OK in the car.”
By the time Ellen and Arnold made it to the car, the driver was standing up with his head through the front passenger window.
Initially, Ellen tried to pull him out, but to no avail.
“I’m a little weakling, but in the heat of the moment you do what you can,” she said.
The couple tried to lift the driver together, but they still needed more help.
About four other people rushed over to the wreck, and they all worked together to lift the driver out before first responders arrived.
Also, the friend who was doing housework with the Kawadlers used a tool to break the back tinted windows to see if anyone else was in the car. No one else was in the vehicle.
The fire that was under the car’s hood became larger after they pulled the driver out.
“We luckily were able to get him out of the car quickly,” Ellen said. “Things happened so quickly, and you just go in there and do it.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3C3W6gM
Post a Comment