Hero detective speaks about fiery rescue on I-95

PALM COAST, Fla. - When an off-duty Flagler County Sheriff’s Office detective came across a fiery crash on Interstate, he jumped into action.

The crash happened on Monday night just after 9 p.m. in Palm Coast.  Detective Adam Gossett had been out with his family and was one of the first to arrive on the scene. 

As flames had just begun to roar through a Ford Eco Sport SUV, he assisted in getting the occupants to safety, including two children who had been injured in the wreck.

Gossett and the children's father each grabbed a child and carried them to safety, moving them away from the fire off the interstate and onto a grassy area near a weigh station.

Flagler County Fire Rescue arrived to provide treatment, and in dramatic video, Gossett is seen taking off his shirt and using it to help stop the bleeding of one of the patients. 

"The first reaction was I just need to stop this bleeding. I didn’t have anything. I didn’t have my patrol car with me, so I just knew, what did I have? So I just used my T-shirt," said Det. Gossett.

Gossett said a Good Samaritan who was also in the Navy had stopped.  He had a medical kit which they were able to use. 

Arriving deputies used fire extinguishers to knock out the fire.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly was still beaming with pride when we spoke to him days later.

"I called him that night after it happened, and he said, ‘I’m not a hero.’ So that just shows you he is a hero," said Sheriff Staly.

Gossett refused to take credit, praising the work of the Good Samaritan and an on-duty Flagler County sheriff's deputy who assisted that night.

"He [the deputy] ran a lot, so if it wasn’t for him and that  Navy corpsman, it would have been a lot worse," Gossett added.  "God put me in that place in the right time. I’m just thankful for that, that I could assist."

The children were transported to a hospital. In total, six people were involved in the crash, four of whom suffered minor injuries. 

The case is being investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol.

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