Good Samaritans rescue man from burning car after interstate crash
Marcus Grant was one of the first people on the scene.
By Gideon Verdin
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MILWAUKEE (WTMJ) — A fiery crash on the interstate could have turned deadly if not for the quick actions of strangers who pulled a man from a burning vehicle just moments before it was fully engulfed in flames.
Marcus Grant was one of the first people on the scene shortly after 12:50 a.m. when he came across the horrifying crash site — two vehicles wrecked, one already smoking, and no emergency crews in sight.
“It was surreal, it wasn’t really scary, more like oh my god this is like a war scene,” Grant said.
Cell phone video captured by Grant shows the aftermath, with flames raging from one of the vehicles. According to Grant, he and about 6 to 8 other people stopped to help — among them, an EMT and a paramedic who happened to be passing by.
“I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing,” Grant said.
Grant described finding a severely damaged car in the middle of the road with several people frantically trying to extract the driver.
“I see in the middle of the road this mushed little car, it was all mushed up from the accident then I saw 4 or so people frantically trying to pull this guy out, so I immediately go out the car, I could see it was fresh, I got there within seconds,” Grant said.
The driver was unconscious and of large stature, making the rescue particularly challenging. Grant noted that “the biggest dude on scene” did most of the heavy lifting to free the trapped motorist.
“People that were pulling him out had literally minutes to pull him out,” Grant said.
Grant also assisted the second driver who appeared to have an injury.
According to Grant, police later declared the area a crime scene. He witnessed one person being detained and placed in the back of a squad car.
Grant shared his story for two reasons — to acknowledge the heroes that night and to raise awareness about highway safety.
“When they say go 55 in construction zones they really mean it but I think that’s actually too fast it should be 20 or 15,” Grant said. “Very thankful that the people that helped pull him out were there.”
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