Men Save Children From Fiery Crash On Jackson Highway In Sacramento County
SACRAMENTO COUNTY (CBS13) — A fiery head-on crash took the life of two drivers on Tuesday night, but California Highway Patrol investigators say it could have been much worse without the efforts of two men.
The crash took place along Jackson Highway near Rancho Murieta. The CHP says it doesn't know what caused the driver of a Ford Fusion to cross into oncoming traffic, but two men kept the death toll down.
The aftermath of the crash shows the devastation when the Fusion and Chevrolet Suburban carrying a family of four hit head-on. Corey Walker and his friend Larry Roberts were right behind the SUV and watched the crash happen.
"I've never seen anything like it and I hope to God I never see anything like that again," Roberts said.
After calling 911, the pair saw a woman get out of the SUV, but no one else.
"I heard the lady screaming, 'My husband, my husband!' then 'Oh my God, my kids are in the car I'm going to lose everything tonight,'" Walker said.
He jumped into action, running up to the fiery scene, grabbing a piece of debris.
"I could hear the little girl screaming inside the car, and I told her to get away from the window, and I threw the wheel bearing through the window and as soon as the window smashed I jumped up and reached around my neck," he said.
Roberts grabbed the little boy right after.
"All that didn't matter to me; It was getting those kids out of the car," he said.
"Like 30 seconds after we got the kids out of the car, and I turned around to get them to safety the biggest explosion happened, and that's when everything was just completely engulfed in flames," Walker said.
They looked back and knew the drivers were not making it out.
"There was nothing I could do for him, but know that he wherever he's at knows that his kids are safe with their mom," Walker said.
Are the men heroes?
"No," Walker said. "I feel like God took control of the situation and we did what we needed to do."
