BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–A SCDNR officer based in Berkeley County is being called a hero after rushing to the aid of several passengers in a burning car.
Sgt. Thomas Spann was off-duty and in his personal vehicle when he came up on a car accident on Muddville Road near the community of Pineville on July 9th, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Spann always keeps his sheriff’s office radio in the vehicle with him, even when off-duty. Taking immediate control of the accident scene, he quickly radioed a 9-1-1 dispatcher for backup and got out to see if he could help.
The vehicle involved in the accident had hit a tree and Sgt. Spann immediately realized that it had also caught on fire. With the blaze growing, the passengers and the driver were trapped in the car, and none of the doors would open.
Using a tire iron provided by a bystander, Sgt. Spann smashed out the windows on the blazing vehicle and helped the passengers – a mother and three small children, two of them strapped in car seats – get safely out. Within minutes of getting the last child out, the car was fully engulfed in flames.
By that time, an ambulance dispatched to the scene had arrived and EMS was able to take over the care of the passengers. Sgt. Spann’s preparedness and decisive actions that day may very well have saved the lives of the individuals in that car.
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