Five Good Samaritans rose to the occasion to rescue a man from a burning car just seconds before it exploded in Ontario, Canada, this week.
A 36 year old man from Toronto who experienced a medical episode is alive because of the heroic efforts of five men who risked their lives as the vehicle began to burn with the driver still inside. They got the drivers door open to save the driver. You are my #HERO. July 4, '22 pic.twitter.com/bwE43tMhn1
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) July 7, 2022
Video footage of the incident shared by the Ontario Provincial Police has gone viral on social media with the five men being hailed as true heroes.
The 36-year-old driver of the car from Toronto, experienced a "medical episode" while on a highway on Monday morning, according to Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
The video shows a white car on the highway with smoke emanating from it. The car then crashes and engulfed in a blanket of thick black smoke. The other motorists who were driving behind the car then pull up to help.
The men rush to save the driver even as the car catches fire. The men first try desperately to break open the window with their hands and legs with no success in the midst of the ever-increasing danger. Eventually one of them comes in with a hammer to smash the window pane.
The hammer was provided by a man driving by in a dump truck.
The rescuers are heard yelling "Get out of the car, man!" while trying to the bring the driver to his senses. As fire engulfs the car, a passer-by is heard warning the rescuers, "Get out of there, it's gonna blow."
The terrified wife of one of the rescuers who is recording the video is heard screaming in horror.
The men then succeed in pulling out the driver just a couple of seconds before the car explodes in flames.
One of the Good Samaritans was identified as Ben Sykes by CBC News, who was heading out along with his wife to Mississauga, on the way to work.
“We had to get him out at that moment, a couple seconds and the vehicle would've exploded," he said. He said that everything happened in a span of 30 seconds before the vehicle burst into flames.
