Garda saves couple and baby from crashed car
A BRAVE gard a has saved the lives of a couple and their baby after he rescued the trapped family from their overturned car before it caught fire.
Garda Declan Fawl, of Newmarket-on-Fergus station in Co Clare, was the first to arrive at the scene, where he found a car on its roof with smoke coming from the engine.
He jumped into action and pulled the young family from the car before the rest of the vehicle caught fire.
The single-vehicle crash happened at Ballycar on the R470 Newmarket-on-Fergus to Sixmilebridge road, at around 2pm yesterday.
The Opel car is understood to have been travelling from the Sixmilebridge direction when it apparently lost control, struck the front wall of a house and rolled over into a grassed area.
As the car lay on its roof, with the young couple and baby trapped inside, smoke began to appear from the front of the car.
The driver had attempted to open his door, but was unable to do so.
Within minutes, Gda Fawl, who was in the area at the time, arrived at the scene.
Gda Fawl was able to help the occupants from the car through a rear door.
He took the young family to a safe area away from the scene as flames began to appear from the engine.
Two units of the fire brigade from Shannon town were dispatched and arrived at the scene soon afterwards.
They quickly extinguished the fire, which was confined to the engine area and had not spread into the vehicle’s interior cabin.
All three of the occupants were checked by fire service first responders and while they initially appeared not to have been injured, it was decided that an ambulance should be called to assess them as a precaution.
In the meantime, all three were cared for by fire crews and later taken into a local house until National Ambulance Service paramedics arrived.
Two ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
All three were assessed by
‘He helped all three from the car shortly before it went on fire’
ambulance paramedics, but were found to be unhurt and not in need of hospital treatment.
A Garda spokesman said: “Gardaí were alerted to a single-vehicle road traffic collision at Ballycar, Newmarket-on-Fergus, and the local patrol car responded immediately.
“Garda Declan Fawl discovered the car on its roof, with smoke coming from the engine.
“A man, woman and young baby were still inside.
“He helped all three from the car through a rear door shortly before the car went on fire.
“Fortunately, all three escaped injury.”
“We commend Garda Fawl for his bravery and quick actions, and we are thankful that no one was injured,” the spokesman added.