Tow-truck driver hero of N1
2012-10-30 09:45
HERO OF THE DAY: While most tow truck drivers have a bad reputation among other road users, one in particular changed that perception after saving a man from a burning car.
CAPE TOWN - Tow-truck driver Chadley Theron might want to turn in his everyday work clothes for a superhero's cape.
Theron and his truck were at a crash on the N1 near Kraaifontein, north-east of Cape Town, when another crash happened nearby. Here's what happened, according to the Daily Voice, and probably why Ruan Heynse is still alive...
It was Theron's 37th birthday on Saturday Oct 27 2012, but he was working anyway. He saw and heard the second collision and reacted immediately.
'MY FACE WAS HOT'
"When I got there the car was on fire," he said, and the occupant was unconscious. "I tried to open the driver's door but nothing happened. My face was hot from the heat but I ran
to the passenger door and luckily I got t open."
He grabbed Heynse by his shoulders and tried to drag him out of the wreck.
"I kept thinking the car could explode at any moment."
Yet he kept pulling and the unconscious driver slid out. He regained consciousness a short while later and told Theron where he lived so his family could be informed.
He is recovering in hospital with a broken leg and burns.
What would you do if you came across a burning car? React boldly, like Theron, or call emergency services and hope for the best. Tell us in the Readers' Comment section below or email Wheels24.
