Motorists risk lives to save driver from burning car on I-79
This week, Slippery Rock University student-athlete Mike Crist is donning his pads and playing spring football as if nothing ever happened.
Less than a week earlier, he, with the help of his mother and brother, put his life on the line to save a complete stranger by pulling him out of a burning vehicle on Interstate 79 near Portersville.
The incident occurred in Muddy Creek Township, just south of the junction with Route 422.
According to Crist, the people in the car were his brother, Austin Travis, and their mother, Tracy Crist, and himself. The Crist brothers were on their way home from Slippery Rock University for the weekend.
“She was the driver. My brother was sleeping in the back seat,” Crist said. “I was in the front seat. I had just gotten out of track practice and I was watching film of that practice.”
The brothers first realized something was wrong when they felt their mother slam on the brakes, as she came across the flaming vehicle on the interstate.
“When she slammed on her brakes, I thought we were wrecking,” Crist said. “And I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’ And she said, ‘That car’s on fire.’”
Without thinking, Crist leaped into action, finding the driver and pulling him out of a vehicle that was melting around him from the sheer heat of the fire.
“When I actually got to the car, the inside was completely engulfed,” Crist said. “The seats were melting, the steering wheel was melted, everything was just melting from how hot the fire was. He was trying to grab all of his belongings, and I could tell that he was in shock.”
Crist says that the rescue was a team effort.
“My mom was the one who attended (to) his injuries until EMS got there and my brother was the one who went back into the burning vehicle to check and see if there was anyone else in the car,” Crist said. “I pulled him out of the passenger seat by myself and had to drag him about 10 to 15 yards behind the vehicle.”
The driver, whose identity has not been released, sustained burns to his legs, but was conscious and was eventually transported to a nearby hospital.
“He had burns from his shin down on both legs,” said Todd Hinkle, assistant fire chief for the Portersville/Muddy Creek Volunteer Fire Department. “He was in a lot of pain and he was quickly transported to a hospital.”
“He was awake throughout the whole process,” Crist said. “He was in a lot of pain, but I believe he was OK.”
Although he did not sustain any burns, Crist says he did not come away from the incident totally unscathed.
“I did go to the hospital later that night. I had really bad smoke inhalation,” Crist said. “The doctor said my EKG was abnormal, and I had inverted T-waves that were caused by smoke inhalation.”
Despite this, Crist was able to suit up and play spring football for Slippery Rock University within a week.
“It’s still bothering me. It’s still rough, but I am a student-athlete, so I kind of have to deal with it and push through,” Crist said. “The hospital put me on a few steroids, and it’s working. They’re taking their course.”
According to Hinkle, the cause of the fire has not been conclusively identified yet. However, he says that the fire could have started from within the van.
“We’re just speculating here, but he had a lawn mower in the back, and it looks like it might have started somewhere around there,” Hinkle said.
However, Crist says that the driver of the vehicle told him that his vehicle was struck from behind and that he also believes that the fire most likely started from the inside.
“He said that this fire started from inside, and it could have been because he dropped his cigarette,” Crist said.
Hinkle adds that no other vehicles were involved in the incident, and that the driver was the only occupant. In addition to Portersville, the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department and state police were on the scene.
“I know our fire chief was there within minutes, and our first truck was probably there within 10 minutes,” Hinkle said.
Trooper Bertha Cazy, state police public information officer, said the incident wasn’t listed as a crash, so a report was not available.
Eagle staff writer Matthew Glover contributed to this report.
