Often in our lives there are near misses we will never know of. But sometimes everything aligns and tragedy strikes. Recently, instead of a near miss, a truck blew through a stop sign and impacted 4 vehicles and 11 peoples lives.
The heroes in this story are a dad in one vehicle and a paramedic in the other. The out of control truck struck an oncoming ambulance and propelled it into the other lane. The ambulance was then hit head on by a Traverse with two passengers: a dad and his 3 year old daughter.
On impact, the Traverse burst into flames. One of the paramedics in the ambulance was injured but her partner acted quickly and got her out. When they were safely out of the ambulance, paramedic Chuck Nix realized the Traverse was almost completely in flames.
Meanwhile Nolan McBride, driver of the Traverse, realized his front doors wouldn't open. He tried breaking windows with no luck. Finally, he climbed into the back and removed his 3 year old from her car seat. Fortunately, the rear right passenger door opened and they were able to escape. Looking back at the car, the inside was fully engulfed in flames.
“If I would have rolled up on that scene as a paramedic,” Nix says, “I would have thought we would have had at least one fatality, several critical patients. It was a horrific event.”
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Sometimes being a hero is just doing what needs to be done, without hesitation. Paramedic Chuck Nix acted instantly and pulled his partner out of the ambulance. Nolan McBride did the same and rescued his daughter from a burning vehicle.
“As it is every day, God is the real hero.
“God definitely took over and watched us, and I believe he watched over everyone there. I mean, there could have been a lot of casualties with 11 people involved in a four-car wreck. So I think we owe it all to God.”
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Both men shrug off being a hero. We know the truth... without men and women like them, many more people would suffer in this world. They walk the thin lines, putting service to others above their own lives!
