Civilians pull man from burning vehicle

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/02/2015 (3336 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A few bystanders pulled an unconscious man from a burning vehicle after a serious crash east of Niverville Saturday night.

Someone with a knife cut the man’s seatbelt and he was then pulled through the passenger’s side door while the front of the vehicle was engulfed in flames, explained Paul who did not want to provide his last name. He said he was among the three to five people assisting.

“I had never seen anything like that except in the movies,” he said.

IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON
Individuals tend to a person put on a stretcher after a serious collision at the notorious intersection of Highway 59 and Provincial Road 311. One vehicle, as shown, ran into a hydro pole, while the other, about one hundred feet north, was on fire until it was extinguished.
IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON Individuals tend to a person put on a stretcher after a serious collision at the notorious intersection of Highway 59 and Provincial Road 311. One vehicle, as shown, ran into a hydro pole, while the other, about one hundred feet north, was on fire until it was extinguished.

He saw a vehicle on Provincial Road 311 eastbound from Niverville ignore the stop sign and keep barrelling forward when its path was intercepted by another vehicle on Highway 59. The incident occurred before 9:30 p.m.

A SUV, with two occupants, collided into the light standard and the other vehicle driven by a male caught fire and also landed in the northeast ditch.

The fire department had to remove the two occupants from the SUV, explained Paul.

Two of the three individuals in the crash were taken by ground ambulance, while the other was transported by STARS. The conditions of the people involved were not disclosed as RCMP declined immediate comment.

Sandra Driedger called 911 when she came across the scene. She noticed civilians next to the burning vehicle before first responders replied.

“I saw a lot of people jumping in and out trying to get him out,” she said, mentioning the vehicle could have exploded. “A lot of civilians, a lot of heroes.”

Paul brushed off the suggestion his actions were heroic. To him, there was no other choice.

“You can’t leave a guy in a burning car,” he said.

Traffic was re-routed around the intersection until before 11 p.m.

The intersection of Highway 59 and PR 311 has been a safety concern for area residents because the busy corner does not have traffic lights. Morris MLA Shannon Martin and Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen have been among those pushing for improvements.

UPDATE: St Pierre RCMP said in a release on Sunday morning that the driver of the eastbound vehicle, a 65-year-old man from Steinbach, sustained substantial injuries and was transported to hospital. He is currently in stable condition. Two women in the other northbound vehicle, a 25-year-old from Winnipeg and a 24-year-old from St Cloud, Minnesota, were transported to hospital with serious injuries but are currently in stable condition. Alcohol is not considered to be a factor in the crash.

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