PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A first responder and a good Samaritan jumped into action after an SUV and a semi lost control and crashed in Plymouth Township.
Good Samaritans pulled a man and child from the SUV before it became engulfed in flames Tuesday.
Michigan State Police trooper Dan Drewyor was on his way to the MSP Brighton Post Tuesday morning when he saw the jack-knifed semi on Ann Arbor Road.
“It was very fortunate things happened the way they did with an as good of an outcome. It could have been a lot worse,” Drewyor said. “When I got out of my car to make sure everyone was OK, that’s when I observed the car that was starting to ignite on fire.”
It was a race against time to get a father and his young son out of the SUV that had burst into flames after the collision with the semi.
“Luckily, when I called out for help from a civilian, he came by and helped me with the fire extinguisher so I could remove the person from the car,” Drewyor recalled.
Thanks to multiple good Samaritans who stepped up to help with the rescue, the trooper and along with several bystanders were able to get everyone out the burning vehicle.
“When it first started, you don’t really think,” Drewyor said. “You just react and I didn’t do anything that any other cop or trooper wouldn’t have done in my position.”
Drewyer doesn’t want special attention. He said all the glory should go to the people who rose to the occasion without a badge.
“A lot of thanks need to go out to the gentleman that helped me,” Drewyor said. “And there was another passer-byer that stopped and helped with the little boy that we got out of the car too. My hat is off to them. They were just normal guys going to work and they came out to help when I asked them to.”
Drewyor later went to the hospital to visit the family of the victims in the crash. As of Wednesday night, the man is still in critical condition. The boy is expected to be OK.
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