‘It was a blessing’: Good Samaritans rescue man from burning car on QEW
Posted July 7, 2022 6:05 am.
Last Updated July 7, 2022 6:34 pm.
A man escaped with only minor injuries when he was rescued from a burning car after suffering a medical episode on a GTA highway earlier this week.
The incident occurred on the QEW near Cawthra Road in Mississauga on Monday morning.
The Ontario Provincial Police Highway Safety Division shared incredible video shot by the wife of one of the men who participated in the rescue. The footage shows the group pulling the driver out of his vehicle minutes before the car burst into flames.
The Good Samaritans pulled over and sprung to action after seeing the crash and noticing the car beginning to burn while the man behind the wheel was still inside.
Ben Sykes says he and his wife were heading to Mississauga when they stopped at what they thought was just a vehicle fire.
“I realized something was off when we saw people moving on the outside of the vehicle pretty quickly,” said Sykes, speaking to Breakfast Television on Thursday morning. “We showed up maybe 20 seconds after the accident, we didn’t see it happen.”
“In that moment it was just, ‘if somebody is in there, let’s try and help them.”
The video shows the men urgently kicking and punching at the driver’s side window in an effort to help the driver escape. Sykes, wearing a white hoodie and grey shorts, is finally able to smash the side window using a hammer that was thrown to him by a construction worker. Once the glass was broken the men were able to open the door and pull the driver out to safety.
“Thankfully he threw that hammer at the right time,” he says. “Within 45 seconds the vehicle is totally torched. It was a blessing.”
“I think the instinct and adrenaline takes over. The one thing that I realized is how quickly your brain can focus and make decisions.”
The 36-year-old driver from Toronto experienced a medical episode before the collision and OPP say he is only alive because of “the heroic efforts” of the individuals who stopped to help.
“You just do what you hope somebody else would do for you,” says Sykes.
Mississauga’s Fire Chief says those involved have been nominated for the the Fire Chief’s Commendation Award to acknowledge their “quick action and bravery.”
Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie echoed the sentiments saying she is proud of the motorists who stopped to save the driver’s life.
“These heroes have been nominated in recognition of their bravery and courage in the face of a crisis,” tweeted Crombie on Thursday.
Proud of the motorists who took quick action to save the life of another driver on the QEW near Cawthra earlier this week. These heroes have been nominated for Fire Chief Commendation Awards by @MississaugaFES in recognition of their bravery and courage in the face of a crisis. https://t.co/Gwiexx1kGg
— Bonnie Crombie ???????? (@BonnieCrombie) July 7, 2022
