Man pulled from flaming car by good Samaritans

EASTON, Mass. -- Neighbors and a police officer rushed to save a man trapped in a vehicle after a fiery crash in Easton and that man is alive thanks to their heroic acts.

The police officer was the fourth person on the scene of the accident and helped three good Samaritans pull the man across the lawn and away from the flaming vehicle. The civilians had pulled the man from that vehicle only moments before it burst into flames.

“I heard a big boom and then when I came outside I noticed that there was smoke coming from the car,” said Nathan Everett.

Everett, a stay-at-home dad, was one of the first two people that arrived at the car wreck, just moments after it careened off the road and into a utility pole.

“We had to put him out because he started burning. It came through the dashboard, all the flames so we knew we had to pull him out,” said Everett.

Retired military engineer Ken Bowman fired off two home extinguishers, then joined Everett and the other neighbor to pull the man out of the vehicle. He said he was worried about moving the man, but more worried about what would happen if they had left him inside.

“Put his arm out and extinguished that. They pulled him out and laid him across the street on the neighbor’s lawn,” said Bowman.

Bowman’s wife took video of the car going up in flames after the men pulled the driver to safety. She and others agreed, the neighbors’ quick action saved the man’s life.

“He wouldn’t have made it if they hadn’t pulled him out, the fire was that fast moving,” said Bowman’s wife.

When Everett was asked if he felt like a hero he said, “No, I don’t feel it, but I’ll take it.”

“Afterwards, all three of us were out there talking and we said, ‘we’re crazy,’ yeah, I guess we are,” said Bowman.

Thursday night, the driver was reported to be in critical condition at Boston Medical Center.

The man’s wife talked to his rescuers and thanked them for all they had done.

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