State Police from the Schuylkill Haven station say that the actions of five men saved the life of a passenger in a Buick Century that had burst into flames in a two-vehicle accident Saturday. The driver of the sedan could not be saved after the fiery car crash.
Authorities believe that the sedan pulled out in front of an oncoming Hummer H2 on Route 125 a few minutes before 3:30 Saturday afternoon. Pennsylvania State Police say that the Hummer clipped the rear end of the sedan. The impact ruptured the gas tank on the sedan, leading to the car fire.
That is when the five men who apparently witnessed the fiery crash jumped into action. State police say that the men rushed to the burning sedan, smashed through the window, and retrieved a passenger from the burning vehicle. The passenger, a Pine Grove, Pennsylvania woman, suffered personal injuries and was originally transported to a hospital in Hershey for treatment. She was later transferred to a second hospital, according to authorities.
The driver of the Hummer, a 48-year-old Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, man, was treated at a Hershey area hospital and released. The driver of the sedan perished in the fiery crash.
The wreck occurred during the afternoon at the intersection of Route 125 and Molleystown Road.
The risk of injury or death in an automobile accident related to the forces involved in a crash may seem fairly apparent to most Pottsville, Pennsylvania, area residents. But, the fatal accident on Route 125 Saturday highlights the risk of fire when motor vehicles, which carry fuel and other flammable fluids, collide.
The United States Fire Administration estimates that thousands of fiery accidents occur each year. The agency says that in the three-year-period from 2004 through 2006, more than 258,000 motor-vehicle accidents involving a vehicle fire occurred in each of the years. In fact, the officials say that 16 percent of calls to fire departments across the nation involve vehicle fires.