On Monday, Dec. 22, a man was trapped in a burning car in a ditch alongside Brownsdale Road when bystanders jumped into action and saved his life.

As we learned in the Tuesday edition of the Butler Eagle, a man in his 50s was involved in a crash early Monday morning and ended up trapped in his car with a fire breaking out. First responders were called, but when they got there, they found that a group of bystanders had pulled the man from his car.

Someone had used a trailer hitch to break a window and a fire extinguisher was used to keep the flames away from the man so he could be freed.

He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital with multiple injuries, but a firefighter who responded said if not for the quick actions of people on scene, the man could have died.

“These bystanders worked together and were actually able to break the car’s window out and save the gentleman from the fire,” said Randy Hoffman Jr., assistant chief at the Callery Volunteer Fire Company. “They reacted quickly and they saved his life.”

Hoffman said he didn’t know the names of everyone who got involved, but he wanted to make sure they got the proper recognition. One was a school bus driver for the Seneca Valley School District named Gene.

The district put out a statement saying he wasn’t interested in speaking to the media because he believed anyone would have done the same thing.

We don’t know if that’s true, but we are very grateful there are people out there who will stop and make sure other people are safe on the road. Everyone involved, from the first people to call in the crash to those who helped to the first responders who transported the man to the hospital deserves thanks.

— JK