When Truck driver Scott Durant was traveling on the westbound I-80 in Ohio last week it was supposed to be business as usual. That is until he spotted a burning wreck on the eastbound side of the highway. Two cars were overturned, one of which was bellowing black smoke.
When Durant saw the smoking vehicle, no other help had yet arrived, so he stopped his rig, hopped over the median, and rushed to the aid of those involved.
What he found was a girl yelling for help, upside down in the flipped car, with her seat belt still attached. As the car continued to smoke he was able to get her loose, as well as her mother and brother who were also in the vehicle.
In response to his heroic efforts, Durant explained his thoughts by saying:
“All I could think about was that the car was going to blow up and those people were in it. I don’t know if cars blow up for real, but they do on TV, and I just pictured those three getting burned.”
Once emergency crews showed up, the three that were in the car were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and Durant went to a truck stop to take a shower. It was only then did he notice the blood and glass shards from wounds that he incurred during the rescue.
He says he hopes that if he were ever in that situation, someone would be able to come to his aide. Durant believes that he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
But it was really the right place, right time, and the right person — definitely a highway hero in our book.
