It was a freighting scene in Biloxi, Mississippi last week as a car driven by a woman who was carrying her 1 year granddaughter, t-boned into a semi on I-10.
The car immediately exploded into flames due to the impact. Those looking at the blaze were sure that fatalities would be likely, however instead of just being another onlooker, one truck driver who witnessed the event decided to change the outcome on his own.
The driver was later identified as David Fredericksen, by popular auto blog Jalopnik.
So he hopped out of his rig, fire extinguisher in hand, and leaped into blaze.
Frederickson credits his father, who was always prepared for a situation like this and passed the safety awareness down to him:
Thankfully my father had the presence of mind, bravery, and forethought of carrying a fire extinguisher, to be the first person on scene to risk his own life in order to possibly save another and to inspire others and lead them into taking action
Even though Fredericksen is being hailed as a hero, he says he was just in right place, at the right time:
“…just wanted to put the fire out, but when I saw they were alive, I was like “SWEET!”
…but that couldn’t be farther from the truth, because this right here is 100% the definition of what true heroism looks like.