Three men rescued a trapped man in a burning 2003 Mercedes on Thursday morning, May 9, 2013. At approximately 2:07 a.m., 25-year-old C.J. Howland of Heath and his two friends, Steve, 25, and Dan, 23, happened upon the scene of the accident on FM 740 in Forney, near FM 460.
The 31-year-old driver of the vehicle, who's name is being withheld, struck a tree at a high rate of speed just before 2:00 a.m., according to witnesses. “We just did what we had to do that night to help the gentlemen out and get him out of the vehicle and away from the [vehicle] fire.” said Howland.
The three Rockwall High School graduates used a box-cutter knife to free the driver from his seatbelt and struggled to open the door, “But luckily we did.” says Howland. Just three minutes after the initial call to police and seconds after extricating the driver, the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames.
A care-flight helicopter was dispatched to the scene but later disregarded. The driver was transported by an East Texas Medical ambulance to Baylor University Medical Hospital in Dallas in critical condition. According to a spokesperson at Baylor, the driver was still in critical condition on Monday night.
Kaufman County Sheriffs and the Department of Public Safety are investigating the accident.