Former firefighter rescues girl from deadly crash on I-65 North
ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A former firefighter fell back on his training Saturday after witnessing a deadly crash on I-65 North near the Portland/Orlinda exit in Robertson County.
Witnesses told News 2 the crash happened at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, one person died in the crash.
Chris England, a former firefighter, was driving to Bowling Green from Alabama with his family when they saw the accident unfold.
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“[My wife] saw the truck flip a couple times and land on the roof and spin around and come to a halt,” England said. “That’s whenever we pulled over and got out to help.”
England told News 2 he and another witness ran over to the truck where there was a girl, who he said looked to be around 11 years old, trapped inside.
“We saw the little girl trying to climb out of the truck, so we helped her get the rest of the way out, and that’s when she started screaming saying her mom was dead,” England said. “That got to me.”
England said there were five people in the other car; three of them were children. After he helped one adult and the three kids out of the car, he noticed the other adult was stuck in the passenger seat.
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“The dad was stuck on the passenger side, so we cut the airbag out so we could see what all his conditions were. Then we had to wait on the fire department to get there to cut him out with the jaws of life,” England said.
It took about 30 minutes for firefighters to get through all the traffic and arrive on scene, according to England.
England said once first responders arrived, he and another witness helped load the girl into the ambulance.
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“Me being an ex-firefighter and me being a veteran, I just wanted to help people out,” England said.
THP has not released the cause of the crash or if any charges will be filed.
According to News 2’s news partners, Smokey Barn News, the man in the other car was sent to the hospital in stable condition. The other adult and three children in the same car were not seriously injured and weren’t transported.
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