Good Samaritan honored for rescuing driver in fiery car crash in Casselberry
SANFORD, Fla. - A Good Samaritan was in the right place at the right time to save a life when he pulled a driver from a fiery car wreck back in February.
The incident occurred when a car exploded and burst into flames after colliding with another vehicle and hitting a utility pole in Casselberry, creating a raging inferno just feet from dozens of homes.
Miraculously, both drivers survived.
Donny Daugherty of Winter Springs was in the area when he saw the flames.
"I'm kind of like a Groundhog Day type guy. I do the same thing every day: I get off at the same time. But this day, you know, just happened a little differently," he explained. "I stopped at the store to get medicine. I filled up my truck with gas because I didn't want to deal with it the next morning."
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Daugherty jumped out of his car and smashed the windshield of the burning vehicle.
"I finally got a hole, probably about this big. And at that time, I saw a hand wave. Like, I just saw a hand through the smoke and heard her, 'Help me! Help me!' You know? So I grabbed her hand," he recounted.
When firefighters arrived, the woman and the other driver were already outside their vehicles.
Later, Daugherty met the woman he had saved.
"If it wasn't for him again, I would not be here," she said.
The Seminole County Fire Department honored Daugherty with a "Citizen Life Saving Award."
"I encourage anybody else, just do what you can, you know, if there's people in need," he said.