A LORRY driver heroically leapt into action to extinguish a burning car in which a man was trapped just moments after a horrific collision on Tuesday morning.
Skip lorry driver Steve Middleton was driving his eight-wheeled vehicle along the B3082 Blandford Road near Kingston Lacy when the collision between the gas tanker in front of him and a silver Lexus travelling in the opposite direction took place around 6.20am.
Mr Middleton, who has been a driver with Sims Metal Management at Wimborne for 18 years, rushed to the aid of the Lexus driver who was trapped in his vehicle
He helped extinguish the flames coming from the engine as the emergency services were called to the scene.
Mr Middleton said he was following the tanker along the road in the Blandford direction when it started to brake.
“I thought it was a bit strange but then I saw a silver car, which went past me sparking”, he said.
“His front side hit the front of the tanker lorry I think and the lorry spun at 90 dgrees.
“The lorry driver was shaking but alright and then I saw that the front of the car was alight and heard the chap calling for help. I grabbed the fire extinguisher out of my lorry and put it out.
“Then I looked round and saw smoke from the tanker. I went all around it but there was nothing.
“The car driver was bleeding from his head and he seemed in a lot of pain. He kept putting his head over the wheel and I tried to calm him and talk to him until the ambulance arrived very quickly afterwards.”
Mr Middleton, 56, added: “I’m a bit shaken up.
“We just do what we do without thinking at the time.
“I just reacted like anyone would do.”
Fire fighters from Blandford and Wimborne using three sets of hydraulic cutting equipment took 45 minutes to free the injured driver before he was taken to Poole Hospital with a broken pelvis and legs.
bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9 … oad_crash/
He is currently in a stable condition with his injuries described as “serious but not life-threatening.”
). I was driving A9 between Stirling and Perth and on one of this dangerous junction there was a crash. I arrived after it happened and I saw that they try to extinguis fire with small fire extinguisher. I was on agency job, driving a lorry which was on ADR usually, so it has more fire extinguishers than bombs on my christmas tree, so I grabbed one and run, the other guy saw me coming and run my way (there was like 7 cars before me and accident) so I passed him this big one, and run for the next one. Luckily the other one was not needed, but if not that I had this 11 kgs one on me, it would be hard to put the fire off…