Brave action worked out well

Officials with the city fire and police departments are commending a Regina man who helped keep a fiery crash from becoming a tragedy on Wednesday night.

Dwight and Lana Siman were on their way to pick up their son from basketball practice when a four-vehicle

“WHEN IT GOES RIGHT, IT WAS THE BEST THING TO DO AT THE TIME.”

GERARD KAY

collision at the corner of Victoria and Arcola avenues caused one of the vehicles, a Nissan pickup truck, to catch fire.

Dwight’s gut told him to help the 33-year-old man escape from his burning vehicle before it burst into flames.

“It was the heat of the moment. He had to make a very quick judgment call between saving his own skin and then saving somebody else,” deputy fire chief Gerard Kay said Thursday.

“When it goes right, it was the best thing to do at the time.”

Around 8:30 p.m., the man in the Nissan was heading west on Victoria Avenue and stopping at a red light when a woman rear-ended his truck with her car. Police say the force of the impact caused the truck to skid into another car in front of it, then bounce sideways into a third car waiting to turn right onto Arcola Avenue.

Three adults and a four-monthold were taken to Regina General Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

Charges have not been laid, and it is believed the woman who caused the crash may have been experiencing a medical emergency at the time. Police continue to investigate.

The Simans, who were in the lane to the left of the truck, were not hurt but had a long night Wednesday.

“It took me a while to get to sleep because of the adrenaline, but we’re OK,” Dwight, who noted he just did what was right in a chaotic situation, said Thursday. “What a crash.”

Elizabeth Popowich with the Regina Police Service called Siman’s act nothing short of bravery.

“When people can help someone else out without risking their own safety, it’s always a good thing to see, and certainly encouraging,” Popowich said.

Shortly after Siman helped the man out of his truck, it burst into flames. According to Kay, it’s rare for a vehicle to become completely engulfed so soon after an accident and with such intensity.

Because of Siman’s quick reaction and the fact that the accident and subsequent fire happened just outside a fire hall, a serious collision didn’t become something worse.

“I won’t repeat what I was told, but it was a show of sorts. You had bits of cars everywhere ... You’ve got vehicles bouncing off of each other and then flames on top of it all,” Kay recalled, adding it is not known exactly what caused the truck to catch fire. “It’s classic Hollywood. It doesn’t happen.”

On Wednesday, it did.