The status of driver saved by Nevada Air Guardsman last September during fiery, multiple-vehicle crash remains unknown.
“We’ve tried to reach out to local law enforcement for more information, but he (the driver) was quickly rushed to a hospital,” said Senior Master Sgt. Kraig Kimball, Nevada Air National Guard Recruiting and Retention senior enlisted leader. “That was the last we saw him.”
It’s a point of interest for those who immediately responded to the wreck, including Kimball, who was recently nominated for an Airman’s Medal for pulling the man from a vehicle seconds before the car engulfed in flames. The medal is awaiting approval at the National Guard Bureau, said Capt. Vicenza Dall, Nevada Air Guard Recruiting and Retention Officer in Charge.
Kimball and Dall attended the annual Recruiting and Retention Leadership Symposium held at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport, Miss., last September.
After lunch, Dall and Kimball were driving eastbound on Rippy Road in southern Mississippi when they noticed a multiple-vehicle accident blocking traffic, including a Subaru Outback careened in a nearby ditch surrounded by forest and underneath electrical line, according to a Gulfport Police Department report.
The driver slumped over his passenger seat and was motionless, Kimball said.
“I turned to (Kimball) and questioned, ‘Is that guy dead?’” Dall said. “Without hesitation, and before I could process what we were about to face, he pulled our vehicle to the shoulder and exited at a full run.”
What appeared to be a minor vehicle accident became much more, Dall said.
“A bystander told me there was smoke coming from the back of the vehicle,” Kimball said. “As I approached, I saw a small flame developing inside the cabin, in the back seat, and realized those flames were only going to get larger. I told the driver that we needed to exit the vehicle immediately. I pulled him out of the car, out of the ditch, and guided him across the roadway to a safer location.”
Two members of the Montana Air National Guard also in Gulfport for the leadership symposium parked to assist Kimball. Montana Air Guard Capt. Caitlyn Cayer, who is also a nurse practitioner, joined Kimball in administering first aid to the driver’s head wound.
The driver’s girlfriend arrived on the scene shortly after and thanked the members of the National Guard for their assistance.
“She was very thankful and gave us a hug before she left,” Kimball said.
Emergency medical services transported the driver to hospital before police arrived. According to the police report, law enforcement was “unable to get a statement” from the driver and went “with no answer” from the driver after multiple attempts to make contact.
“Of course I would like to know how the driver is doing,” Kimball said. “It’s not everyday you get to help someone in that way.”
Anyone with information on the car accident can reach out to the Nevada National Guard Public Affairs Office at 775-287-5592 or emerson.marcus@us.af.mil.
“Had he not acted with extraordinary courage, physical strength, and immediate situational awareness, the driver would have suffered catastrophic burns and likely death,” Dall wrote in her sworn statement following the event. “His willingness to enter a burning vehicle, extract an incoherent man and administer lifesaving first aid exemplifies the highest traditions of the United States Air Force.”