Nelson RCMP say a 20-year-old man was pulled from a burning car and attended to by passersby after his vehicle crashed early Thursday morning on a highway in Taghum, west of Nelson, B.C.
Police arrived at the scene around 6 a.m. to find the driver’s Mazda 3, which officials believe veered off the road, had struck a large rock, flipped onto its roof, and caught fire near the CPKC rail track.
RCMP confirm Nelson resident Colby Weinrauch pulled the unconscious driver from the wreckage, potentially saving his life. The driver, a Castlegar resident, was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
“A passerby who came across the vehicle, which caught on fire, managed to pull the unconscious driver to safety, surely saving the man’s life,” said Cpl. Derek Pitt of the Nelson RCMP Detachment.
‘Might have grabbed a fistful of hair’
Weinrauch says he was on his way to work early Thursday morning when smoke near the rail tracks caught his attention. As he approached the scene, he saw flames rising more than four metres, the same height as the surrounding trees.
“The driver’s door was pinned up against a tree,” he recalled.
Weinrauch grabbed a rock and smashed the back window of the overturned vehicle, where he found the driver unconscious in the backseat.
Nelson RCMP say Colby Weinrauch came across the scene and rescued the unconscious driver, who was trapped inside the burning car. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
“Must have crawled into the backseat somehow or got thrown into the backseat somehow. I started immediately trying to talk to him like, ‘Hey man, getting pretty hot in here.'”
With the flames still spreading, Weinrauch pulled the 20-year-old out through the broken window.
“I think I grabbed his hoodie. I might have grabbed a fistful of hair,” he said. “Unfortunately, [I] wasn’t very nice about it, but he had to get out of the car.”
Once the driver was out and on the ground, Weinrauch saw him gasp for air, providing a moment of relief. Soon after, the vehicle began “popping and blowing up.”
Action lauded on social media
Weinrauch’s quick response has been praised on social media, alongside recognition of another local, John Guillemette, who also assisted at the scene. According to a post on the Nelson, B.C. public Facebook group, Guillemette helped pull the driver from the car and administered first aid.
The post quotes Guillemette recounting the effort.
“Colby was getting him out as I was running down the bank. We both pulled him away from the burning car to safety, and I performed first aid, checking vitals until medics arrived. The victim was unconscious, eyes rolling, gasping for air every four seconds, burned head to toe,” it reads, adding that Guillemette sustained burns while rescuing the unconscious driver.
“I had to leave because I was overloaded and did not stay to make a statement.”
CBC News reached out to Guillemette, but he declined further comment.
“John [Guillemette] came down, and he helped me pull him. We pulled him about 15 feet away [from the scene],” added Weinrauch.
A couple of nursing students also arrived, he said, and helped provide first aid until paramedics got there.
Recognition for rescue
“A lot of people are calling me a hero, and you know, that’s all well and fine, but it was just happenstance that I was there,” Weinrauch said. He added that he had received a call from the young man’s mother, thanking him for saving her son.
A father himself, Weinrauch said he acted without hesitation, hoping that someone would do the same for him or his children if needed.
“I hope somebody would have the gumption to do the same for myself, for my kids,” he said.
RCMP say Weinrauch “could be” nominated for the St. Johns Ambulance Life Saving Award and the B.C. Emergency Health Services Good Samaritan Award for his actions.
Nelson RCMP say the cause of the accident is under investigation and are asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them at (250) 352-2156.