Professional truck drivers see it all, and unfortunately, that includes accidents. David Fredricksen was driving his truck on a highway near Biloxi, Mississippi when he saw a car hitting 18 wheelers fuel tank and unleashing a massive fireball. David didn’t just sit there staring; he grabbed the fire extinguisher he kept in his truck, jumped out, and ran over to see if there was anything he could do.
Although David denies being a hero, just about everyone else would disagree. Even armed with a fire extinguisher, he was taking a big risk by running over to the flaming car. There was also no telling what he was going to find when he got there — it could have been a particularly gruesome scene. “I was praying to myself. I really didn’t want to have to see somebody dead. Other people would’ve done what I did.”
Fortunately, what David found was, depending on your outlook, either a miracle or at the very least extremely good luck. The driver was doing her best to kick the door open, despite having suffered a broken leg. In the back seat, her year-old granddaughter was in a car seat that had been knocked loose, landing away from the flames. David got both of them safely out of the car before it was completely engulfed by fire.
David’s son, who was in the truck with him, put it well: “Thankfully my father had the presence of mind, bravery, and forethought of carrying a fire extinguisher, to be the first person on scene to risk his own life in order to possibly save another and to inspire others and lead them into taking action. Everyone involved in the rescue effort is a hero in my books.”
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