Five men saved an elderly couple from a burning vehicle on a California highway.
Andre Leggett, Jeff Lucas, Barry, Harry Hemphill, and Scott Andre were the only people who stopped to help an elderly couple escape their car as it was up in flames. Despite their troubled past, including homelessness, addiction, and incarceration, the group proved that all that matters in this world is empathy and selflessness.
As Newsner reports, the five men were on their way to work when they saw the burning vehicle in the westbound lanes of Interstate 8 in Lakeside before the exit for Lake Jennings Park Road.
Speaking to Inside Edition, Barry recalled:
“I yelled at the guys, I said, ‘We’re stopping, we gotta help them.’ And we all jumped out, and I ran and I saw his wife screaming, so I ran, pulled her out.”
Andre added:
“He opens the car door, and right then and there, the car explodes. I fall back from the explosion, and Barry just grabs the guy and pulls him out of the car.”
The elderly couple were Ken Williamson, 92, and his wife, Joan Williamson, 90.
Following the harrowing incident, Mr. Williamson suffered severe burns. So did Barry, who pulled him out of the flaming car. He explained:
“When I pulled him out, all the skin came off his arm, and I locked onto his wrist. It was just weird, godly timing. God wanted us to be there, at that spot, at that moment.”
Jeff continued:
“There’s no doubt about it, five-ten seconds could have made the difference in two lives.”
A passerby, who stopped to help, recorded the terrifying incident on her phone.
Marie McCory, who caught the scene on camera, said:
“As we got closer and the smoke cleared, we could see there were people in there. I just couldn’t even believe what we were seeing. They couldn’t get the seatbelts off, so we could see them struggling to get them off, and we were very worried.”
Fortunately, according to Harry, Mr. Williamson “did not seem like he was in any pain.” At the time, he was more concerned about his wife.
Thankfully, both Mr. and Ms. Williamson are now out of danger. Their son, Steve, said:
“Dad had some burns to his left side, and my mom got out with unbelievably just abrasions. We are just so grateful, these guys are heroes to us and to our parents for stepping up immediately, and that is phenomenal.”
Their other son, Mark, added:
“Everyone who saw that video knows that if those people did not pull my parents out, we would not be having this discussion right now, so I can’t thank them enough. I just want them to know that they saved two absolutely beautiful people, and we would love to have information to thank him personally.”
