Two good Samaritans save the life of truck driver

— Two good Samaritans saved the life of truck driver Michael Davis, 41, of Sallisaw, Okla., by pulling him out of the cab of his burning trucktractor after it ran off ArkansasHighway 59 north of Decatur on Oct. 15.

The engine compartment of the truck was already on fire when Blake Holland of Sulphur Springs and Nanette Thomas of Noel, Mo., came upon the accident. They pulled Davis to safety as the truck began to explode,according to Arkansas State Police Officer Lori Whillock.

“Had they not pulled him out, he would have burned to death,” she said.

Davis was not trapped in the truck, but his injuries were such that he could not have escaped on his own, Whillock explained.

Davis was driving the semi truck and trailer, owned by Titanium Transport of Fort Smith, south on Arkansas Highway 59 when it ran off the road into the ditch near the entrance to the Simmons Feed Mill and hit a tree, Whillock said. She said she did not believe the truck wasspeeding at the time but ran off the road because of driver inattention.

There were at least four small explosions after the truck caught fire, caused by either the tires or the diesel fuel tanks, Whillocksaid. It took several hours to put out the fire because of the amount of diesel fuel involved, according to Decatur Fire Chief David Flynt.

Whillock said that neither Holland, who is an inactiveduty Marine, or Thomas seemed to think they did anything out of the ordinary by rescuing Davis.

“They were both very, very nice people,” she said.

Contrary to some news reports, neither Thomas or Holland were injured in the accident, Whillock said.

Davis was not burned in the accident, but hewas transported by air ambulance to Washington Regional Hospital in Fayetteville and then on to a hospital in Tulsa.

On Friday, Whillock said she had heard from family members that Davis was in stable condition.

Davis was cited for careless and prohibitive driving and for driving without a seatbelt in use, she said.

News, Pages 1 on 10/24/2012