A police officer in Collier County, Florida, has been nominated for a Medal of Distinguished Service after leaping into a burning tractor trailer and pulling its driver to safety.
The incident occurred back on October 23rd, however the details of the incident were just recently released by the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Cpl. Joshua Hankinson had left work for the day and was traveling north on Interstate 75 in Charlotte County when he spotted a collision involving two semi trucks southbound at mile marker 166.
Cpl. Hankinson immediately pulled over and ran towards the semi that was the worst damaged. He noticed the driver of the truck moving around in the cab, and could smell diesel fuel leaking from the truck.
He explain that he instructed the trucker to leave the vehicle, but the driver did not respond and appeared confused.
“When I realized he may not understand or was in a state of shock, I reached over him and unbuckled his seat belt,” Cpl. Hankinson recalled. “Pulling on his shirt and left arm I was able to assist him out of the cab of the truck.”
Soon after the officer pulled the driver to safety, he heard a loud explosion.
“As I guided him to a safe distance, about 50 feet, the truck became engulfed in flames and a few loud explosions occurred,” Cpl. Hankinson added.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, no one in the crash was seriously injured.
Cpl. Hanksin has since been nominated for a Medal of Distinguished Service for his heroic efforts.
He says he doesn’t consider his actions to be out of the ordinary, and stated he was just doing what felt right at the time.
“I do not feel I did anything above what any person with a heart would have done in the same situation. It was just simply, in my mind, a moment in time where I made a decision to do what is right in the world,” he added.
