Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Good Samaritans save motorist from inferno
TWO sharp-eyed Good Samaritans spotted that a car was about to be engulfed in flames with the driver sitting at the wheel — oblivious to the danger she was in.
Stefan Ward, 30, and Ric May, 50, were walking along Broughty Ferry Road when they spotted flames under the Citroen C3.
The pair immediately went to see if they could help.
Moments later, the vehicle was engulfed in an inferno.
The car — which had developed an electrical fault — had broken down at Blackscroft.
Ric said the 65-year-old driver was sitting in her car on the phone to her husband thinking she had simply broken down — and was unaware of the danger she was in.
Moments after they got her out of the car, the vehicle was completely destroyed in the inferno.
Stefan said that if they had been one minute earlier or later, they might have missed the woman’s predicament and the consequences could have been tragic.
Stefan, a volunteer with the Steeple Church and Street Chaplains, said: “Instantly we were thinking, ‘is there anybody in the car?’
“We ran over and saw there was a woman sitting in the driving seat.
“Within minutes the car was engulfed in flames.
“It was God’s perfect timing — it was lucky that we were there at that time.
“We need more people to help out — we can all be heroes if the timing is right.”
Fire crews arrived at the scene and brought the blaze under control — but the car was completely gutted.
Police closed the road and diverted traffic away from the scene.
The woman was uninjured and did not require hospital treatment.
Ric said: “She was lucky. One minute earlier or later and we would have missed it.
“It’s nice to save someone and be there at the right time.
“The woman was sitting on the phone to her husband as her car had broken down.
“We just happened to be able to see the flames under the engine — but she didn’t realise that it was on fire. We phoned the fire service and they were there within five minutes.
“I’ve seen cars go on fire before so I knew she had about two minutes before it got out of control.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a crew had attended to tackle the blaze.
He said: “The fire service was called to an incident on Blackscroft at Broughty Ferry Road at 6.57pm on Saturday.
“One appliance was sent to the scene and two hose reel jets were used along with one extinguisher. “We left the scene at 7.30pm.” A spokesman for Police Scotland said that officers were involved in the closure of the road as emergency services dealt with the incident. It was reopened by 8.15pm.