A quick-thinking truck driver came to the rescue Friday afternoon in Battle Creek, Michigan. and saved the life of a man whose car was engulfed in flames after being rear-ended by an SUV.
Dennis Torrey, of Battle Creek, ran to the scene as the 62-year-old driver was trapped in his Jeep Wrangler screaming for help.
Torrey grabbed the man’s hand, and with the help of another Good Samaritan, Marc Stemaly, pulled him from the vehicle.
“I had blood and black stuff on my hands,” Torrey told Fox 17.
Even though Stemaly used the entire contents of a fire extinguisher on the man, Torrey was still unsure he would survive.
“What was left of his clothes were still smoldering, and flaming a little bite,” he said.
Torrey said he felt a connection with the man he rescued, and he would do the same thing again if the situation called for it. He just wishes he could have done more to help and wants to check up on the man.
“I would apologize for not getting him out quicker,” he said.
Still, Torrey is considered a hero for saving the life of a driver who surely would have died.
“If not for the courageous actions of the witnesses, the victim would not have survived the fire caused by the collision,” Battle Creek Police said.
Police say the driver is still in critical condition. The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries and will probably face criminal charges. The crash remains under investigation.
Sources