Rescue worker forced to scale a wall to save Scott McLaughlin has tough message for Shane van Gisbergen
Shane van Gisbergen was hailed for an ultimate act of sportsmanship when he stopped to help crashed V8 rival Scott McLaughlin, but emergency workers have delivered a brutal reality check.
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Shane van Gisbergen was hailed a hero for stopping to help rival Scott McLaughlin after the Mustang driver’s spectacular crash last weekend, but the fire marshal who freed the championship leader has a message for Supercars drivers: don’t get involved.
In a sobering reality check for what was described as the ultimate act of sportsmanship, senior CAMS fire marshal John Zyzniewski has revealed that van Gisbergen almost stopped him from making the rescue after he was forced to scale a wall to get to the burning car after the Red Bull driver bowled him over.
Recounting the desperate moments after McLaughlin’s 200km/h crash that destroyed his Mustang, Zyzniewski, who has 27 year’s emergency service, said van Gisbergen’s heroics put “lives at risk’’.
“Shane came up behind me and he pushed me past where I needed to be,’’ Zyzniewski said. “And I ended up being stuck between the car, which was on its side, and a concrete barrier. I had to jump up on to the wall and climb up on to the top of the car just to get to Scott.
“He (van Gisbergen) was just trying to help. But we could have seen a driver hurt because of his actions. He got in the way and exposed us all to a dangerous situation.’’
Zyzniewski, who previously worked as a firefighter for a military contractor, was the first emergency worker to reach McLaughlin’s all-conquering Mustang and revealed the car was on fire following the crash that registered a force of 46Gs.
“I was performing a primary sweep where I was looking for an immediate threat to my life or to the drivers,’’ Zyzniewski said.
“I was looking for fires, fuels leaks and whether or not the driver was conscious. I went straight to the front of the car and I saw a fire. A brake line had been ripped off and there was a fire.
“I was concerned of further fire risk so I went to the back of the car to look for leaks and that is when Shane came rushing towards me.’’
With the fire threatening to spread, and a direct line to McLaughlin blocked, Zyzniewski scaled a wall before climbing on to the upturned Mustang.
“I had to break the door of its hinges to get him out,’’ Zyzniewski said.
“I then helped him out of the car before sitting him down. I asked him if he was OK and he told me that he thought he was.’’
Speaking out because he fears the positive reaction to van Gisbergen’s actions may inspire similar situations in the future, Zyzniewski pleaded with drivers to leave accident response to trained professionals.
“I have been doing this half my life,’’ Zyzniewski said.
“So, if I see a big crash or a fire, I remain calm and in control because I am desensitised to it. Myself and the other trained professionals are at motorsport events almost every weekend performing these duties. We aren’t shocked by anything. But while we remain in control, seeing a crash like this for a Supercars driver or a team can be a very big deal.
“From what I have seen Shane is a lovely guy and I don’t want to speak badly of him. But he should not have gotten out of his car. Things could have ended ugly and I am glad it didn’t. We have to prevent a situation like this from happening in the future.’’
McLaughlin was hospitalised after the crash. The DJR/Team Penske driver was later cleared of injury and will return this week for the Sandown round.
Originally published as Rescue worker forced to scale a wall to save Scott McLaughlin has tough message for Shane van Gisbergen