Video emerges of heroic rescue of driver from flaming car in Mississauga
Published July 5, 2022 at 8:17 pm
The man who smashed to the window of a blazing crashed car to save the life of an unconscious driver alongside two others has brought forward video of the driver’s rescue.
Yesterday morning (July 4) a driver is believed by Mississauga Fire Services to a have suffered a seizure while headed down Queen Elizabeth Way.
They left the road and ended up in the grass between the highway and the Cawthra Rd off ramp. The heat from the car ignited the grass which in turn set the car ablaze while the driver was unconscious.
Three men each independently pulled over their cars and tried to extricate the driver. The driver’s side door wouldn’t open so they tried to smash the windows open with their elbows.
Unfortunately they couldn’t get enough force to shatter the glass. However, a truck pulled up and handed a hammer to Ben Sykes, a Principal at a real estate advisory firm.
Sykes managed to shatter the glass just as the flames started to move from the engine compartment into the driver’s compartment.
Videos
As the the glass breaks a pillar of the smoke to billowing out of the car out darkens. Sykes’ wife captured the below video of the rescue. Viewers can hear the men start to yell as Mrs. Sykes wimpers with concern in the background.
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Just has the video end you can see the men pulling the driver out of the the car. “30 seconds later the car was enveloped in flames,” Sykes said via email.
By the time Mississauga Fire crews showed up the car was fully ablaze. The driver sustained only first degree burns to their arm and face while one of the rescuers burned his leg.
Mississauga Fire Captain Chris Ogg was greatly impressed with the men’s rescue of the trapped driver. He said, ““there is no doubt in my mind the driver would have suffered significant injury or death if not for these acts of bravery.”
Ogg was so impressed in fact he’s nominates the men for the Fire Chief’s Commendation Award. Chief Deryn Rizzi endorsed the move saying, “These three will be acknowledged and recognized for their quick action and bravery, risking their own personal safety for another.”
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