Anyone can be a hero — just ask the Crist family.

Mom Tracy Crist, along with her sons, Mike Christ and Austin Travis, were on Interstate 79 in Muddy Creek Township, just south of the junction with Route 422 when they came upon a burning van.

Tracy Crist slammed on the brakes, and Mike Crist remembers running toward the burning vehicle to see if he could help. He found someone inside and pulled him out.

But he wasn’t the only one who helped.

“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,” Mike 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 man who was rescued sustained burns to his legs, but remained conscious and was taken to the hospital.

The cause of the fire in the van is still under investigation, according to Todd Hinkle, assistant fire chief for the Portersville/Muddy Creek Volunteer Fire Department.

Mike Crist needed medical treatment later that night for smoke inhalation, but the Slippery Rock University student suited up this week for spring football.

The entire family deserves credit for what they did. Not everyone would have stopped to help, and even fewer would put themselves in danger to rescue someone they didn’t know.

We’re glad — and lucky — that some people will step in. We hope others follow their example in the future.

— JK