Across the country, blizzard-like conditions have led to dangerous roads and highways– which unfortunately have been the cause of a number of deaths and fatal accidents. Thankfully, this danger did not derail Dalton Surbey, a 17-year old high school junior, as he pulled a 73-year old man to safety after a multi-car accident on the snowy Ohio 576 highway last week.
As impressive as that is, though, it is nothing when compared to the fact that Dalton had just been hit by a truck when he made the daring rescue!
According to a report from The Bryan Times, Dalton had originally stopped his car after seeing an accident on the highway. He then approached the scene and found that Duane Ward, 73, had been rear ended by another vehicle.
Dalton then helped the older man out of the vehicle when BAM, a black Ford Ranger truck came slamming onto the scene, hitting both Dalton and the 73-year old Ward.
“I was knocked to the ground and could not get out of the way,” Ward told The Bryan Times. It was later discovered that he had suffered a broken pelvis and tailbone.
In the moment, however, those injuries looked even worse as Ward now lay helpless in the middle of the highway, having been flung by the previous accident. Ward says, “I couldn’t move. I thought I was going to get run over.”
Fortunately for Ward, Dalton was on the scene. Despite having THREE fractured vertebrae, Dalton bravely showed his heroism.
“I felt some pain when I stood up,” Dalton told the local paper. “Then I heard him scream and I started looking for him… He was in the opposite lane and I thought, ‘I can’t let him stay there.'”
Knowing that the older man was in “imminent danger” (as Ohio State Patrol Sgt. Michael McClain described it), Dalton reached in and pulled him to safety.
“[Dalton] went back into harm’s way to assist Mr. Ward,” said Officer McClain in an interview with CBS News. “This young man, I would say he went over and above.”
The older Ward added, “If he would not have been there, I probably wouldn’t be here,” Ward told the paper. “He could have been hit again, but he helped me. … Certainly, he is a hero.”
As for the hero, who is also a basketball player for Montpelier High School, well, he continues to stay humble about the whole thing.
“I don’t expect people to consider me a hero,” Dalton said in an interview with the local paper. “I just thought he was in trouble and the last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt worse.”
Now, those are the words of a true hero!
4Wheel Online Blog - Automotive News 