CLINTON, B.C. — A story of heroism is emerging from the South Cariboo.
After a pair of crashes on Highway 97 near Chasm Road north of Clinton last night, dramatic video posted to social media shows passersby rescuing one motorist from his fiery wreck.
Truck driver Patric Jansen says he had pulled over to help one driver who had spun out, when he noticed the fireball.
“As I was on the phone with 911, I looked back and another vehicle had collided with a telephone pole, about half a kilometre back. So I ran to my truck and grabbed my fire extinguisher, ran down the highway, and that’s when a bunch of other truck drivers and a couple of bystanders came to assist.”
Jansen says the passersby were able to break a window and pull the driver out, and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived about 20 minutes later.
“He definitely had trauma to the head. He was conscious when we got him out, then the shock kicked in.”
Jansen says the roads were extremely slippery, and the drivers who lost control shouldn’t be faulted.
“It’s not like they were driving too fast at all, It was just crappy road conditions. They both had winter tires on, and still, stuff happens.”
While CFJC Today contacted Jansen to get his account of the rescue, he says it was a team effort.
“It wasn’t just me; three other truck drivers were involved in the rescue, and two four-wheeler cars assisted in the rescue.”
