Truckie denies hero status after pulling elderly man from burning car
A Queensland truckie who pulled a terrified 80-year-old from his burning car has rejected praise for his quick thinking.
On the Road
Don't miss out on the headlines from On the Road. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Queensland truck driver who pulled an elderly man from his burning car has denied being a hero despite praise from emergency services.
Gary Jones says he’s just an “average citizen” after rescuing an 80-year-old man who was trapped inside his burning car on the side of the M1 at Pimpama on the Gold Coast.
The 80-year-old victim was frozen by fear inside the car, which erupted in flames, and failed to respond to calls to get out of the vehicle.
Other vehicles drove past but Mr Jones pulled over in a hurry to inspect the wreckage.
Mr Jones, who is also a wood chopper, called for the man to get out of the vehicle, but he remained immobile as the flames engulfed his car.
The truckie rushed to the driver’s side before pulling the man to safety.
“When he was sitting in the car there were flames both sides of him, the upholstery went up quick, bang,” Mr Jones told 9 News.
“Opened the door, pulled him out, he nearly got run over then, I put him in front of the traffic.
“An 80-year-old is not agile, that’s for sure.”
Mr Jones said he couldn’t believe the man escaped unharmed.
“When the car was travelling, the flames were behind it. When he stopped, the flames rose straight up. It was gone – in three minutes, it was gone,” he told the Today show on Wednesday.
“I can’t believe there’s not a mark on him. We were overcome with the fumes from the burning rubber knocked me and the young fella in the car.
“But there’s no burn marks on him. Nothing. He was sitting in the car. The flames were level with his shoulder in the car.”
Handing the incident over to police, Mr Jones left the scene shortly after.
The elderly man was taken to hospital and treated for shock.
While emergency services said the man could have died if Mr Jones had not stepped in to help, the volunteer firefighter didn’t consider himself a hero.
“Not at all, just an average citizen,” he said.
Police are yet to determine the cause of the fire and the incident remains under investigation.
Originally published as Truckie denies hero status after pulling elderly man from burning car
Aussie EV war erupts: ‘Shameful’
The boss of one of the biggest car companies in Australia has slammed a rival over the pricing of its electric vehicles.
Dirt bike ‘hoon’ sent flying in wild crash
Wild dashcam footage has captured the moment a speeding dirt bike collides with a car at a Canberra roundabout, sending the rider flying onto the roof.