A vehicle fire Tuesday has its tale spreading around the neighborhood about the local hero in Pike County. When an uproarious blast and firing up motor grabbed the attention of Justin Quesenberry, he left his home to check out the vehicle.
The vehicle was nearing the edge of a slope immersed in flames, near Russell Street.
“I heard an engine revving up, wide open, and then it went ‘boom’ when I heard a big explosion,” said Quesenberry.
Soon enough, the neighbors started accumulating around, calling for help, and sitting tight for assistance yet certain that whoever was in the vehicle was dead by now, since they were unable to see through the smoke veil or even attempt to draw near due to the high heat.
“The windows were up for so long, I just knew whoever was in there had suffocated,” said Quesenberry.
Once the windows were busted, be that as it may, a passage of air made its way through the veil and cleared a path through the front seat, showing the driver to actually be alive. It was at that moment that Quesenberry knew there was still hope.
“I seen a human moving. I mean it was just like a weight lifted off of my shoulders, that I knew there was somebody to save,” he said.
Without a second thought, he sprung into action and battled through the fire and flames, hauling the man out of the traveler side window of the vehicle as it was engulfed in flames, bringing the stranger away from the vehicle onto the ground nearby.
“And I said, ‘Hurry, come to me.’ I said, ‘you’re on fire! Get out of the car.’ And he didn’t have any energy and he just fell down in the passenger seat,” he said. “So I reached over inside, under his arms, and I pulled him up out of the car.”
Pike County man, deemed ‘local hero,’ rescues neighbor from burning carhttps://t.co/KqEujMkYXz
— WYMT (@WYMT) May 6, 2022
Only minutes after the fact, with the driver safeguarded from the flames and out of the vehicle, the flares developed and grew higher, and the smoke got even heavier and hazier than before. That’s when the local fire-fighters arrived on scene and began to extinguish the violent flames.
“You can’t think. You have to act. Because every moment that you’re stuttering and thinking- and if you get scared and let fear take you over- every bit of those seconds is taken away from that person’s life,” Quesenberry said.
Then, from that point, Quesenberry’s fast activity was shared like a hot potato on social media, with the Elkhorn City Police Department perceiving his selflessness. City hall leader Mike Taylor said the presentation of empathy, without respect for his own well being, shows the genuine consideration Quesenberry has for individuals in his local community.
“It was amazing,” said Taylor. “He put his own life in danger too.”
In any case, Quesenberry said he just did what anybody else would have done and he feels honored to have been perfectly positioned with flawless timing.
“It was a miracle of God that he made it, for sure,” he said.
As for the driver who was saved, they were taken to the hospital, and authorities say he is presently recuperating from home, adding that this scenario wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for their Russell Street hero.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News