Trucker to the rescue

Being in the right place at the right time is where it starts.

But it’s more than just that – much more.

Steve Vole, a driver for GBF Trucking in Wisconsin, was fortunately in the right place at the right time at 6:30 p.m. local time on Oct. 9.

That place was the Ohio Turnpike.

On the route he had been driving for five years, from Caledonia, Wis., to Buffalo, N.Y., Vole said he saw smoke in the distance but didn’t pay much attention and thought it may just be someone burning leaves or yard debris.

As he drove closer to the smoke, Vole could begin to see the situation was dire.

A semitruck was in the ditch, rolled over on its side with the trailer still upright and in flames.

Vole was waved down by a man on the side of the road and asked if he had a fire extinguisher.

“I had one, but it wasn’t going to put this fire out,” Vole said. “For 25 years I worked for my father’s tow truck company, Ernie’s Wrecker Service. We often worked with the fire department on extraction work. Those instincts just kicked in at that point.”

When Vole reached the cab of the burning truck, he saw the driver’s leg was trapped and knew it would need to be freed in order to get him out.

“There were no doors to get him out because the truck was on its side,” Vole said. “I went through the windshield to get inside and started trying to pull the driver out. Because of his injuries I had to grab him under the chest to try and get him out.”

With the severity of the injuries, and fire threat increasing by the second, Vole knew he had to act quickly.

“You have to ignore the screams,” Vole said. “Someone that’s survived a life-or-death situation will tell you, it just becomes instinct. It was going to be horrible, but if I didn’t get in there, this guy was going to die. You throw caution to the wind. As long as I tried, he had a chance.”

Fortunately, Vole and another individual were able to pull the driver from the truck and get him to a safe location about the time first responders arrived.

Vole said he normally takes pictures of accidents he sees whether he helps with the rescue or not.

Those pictures proved how critical the timing was in this case.

According to the timestamp on Vole’s photos, from the time they pulled the driver out of the truck to the time it went up in flames was just three and a half minutes.

“It could have went the other way. There’s no guarantee,” Vole said. “I’m just helping a guy out because trying to help someone is the right thing to do.”

Vole left just as first responders arrived because he didn’t want any recognition as a hero, he says.

In fact, the main reason this story got the attention it has was because a friend of Vole’s, who’s a Marine in Iraq, asked Vole if he could post it to Facebook.

“I’m not in it for glory and being the hero,” Vole said. “Going into it, I didn’t know anything about him. It’s a human being, a fellow driver. You can’t stand back and watch. You have to just jump in and go. I’ve seen some horrible stuff. But, when you can help somebody, that’s always a plus. Once first responders showed up, they did a fantastic job. They just weren’t there yet.”

Vole even credited the individual who waved him down to ask for a fire extinguisher.

“The guy that waved me down – even though he didn’t pull the driver out, just flagging someone down, that helps in situations like this,” Vole said.

All indications from local authorities, who contacted Vole to keep him informed, are that the driver is expected to make a recovery.

Even though he doesn’t want any of the attention, which is often the case with trucker rescues, it doesn’t mean Vole would do anything differently.

“I’d do it again tomorrow,” Vole said. “There’s still some good truck drivers out there, and I do everything I can to show people that.” LL