STAR’S SAVE
Luke Wilson is woman’s ‘hero’ in fatal crash
ACTOR LUKE WILSON pulled a trapped woman to safety after a runaway Ferrari plowed into her BMW and his SUV in Los Angeles — leaving the elderly sports car driver dead and a pro golfer injured.
Wilson, star of “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Old School,” pulled the pinned woman from her upside-down luxury car Tuesday evening after the three-car wreck on N. Chautauqua Blvd. in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades section.
“Luke Wilson was the hero,” said witness Sean Herigs, who assisted the Hollywood star in the dramatic rescue. “His car was also clipped, but he just pulled over and jumped out to help immediately. “He was leading the charge.” Herigs and Wilson, afraid the topsy-turvy BMW might burst into flames, hustled to the wreck and pulled the 50-year-old driver out of the vehicle.
“She was screaming for help, crying,” said Herigs. “I leaned in through the passenger window to help as she pushed herself up and got her leg out. He helped her out the back of the car.
“Luke and myself, we carried her over to the curb and got her situated.”
Injured in the wreck was longtime pro golfer Bill Haas, 35, a passenger in the Ferrari driven by Mark Gibello, 71, of Pacific Palisades. Gibello was pronounced dead at the scene. Haas, a six-time winner on the PGA tour, withdrew from this week’s Genesis Open to recover from pain and swelling in his legs after the wreck. Police were investigating whether speed played a part in the fatal wreck. Herigs said the Ferrari driver accelerated right before the accident. “He just jumps on it, he floors it,” recalled Herigs, 46, who was driving his 14-yearold daughter Hailey home from softball practice. “It looked like maybe he was racing, to show his buddy what the car could do.” The Ferrari initially slid into oncoming traffic, sideswiping Wilson’s car before ricocheting into the BMW.
Driver Gibello and his family were hosting Haas at their home for this week’s PGA tournament event.
Wilson, 46, did not suffer any serious injuries in the wreck.
“His vehicle basically just got clipped by the Ferrari,” LAPD Detective Jeff Fischer told KTLA-TV.
Haas’ father, Jay, told the Golf Channel his son suffered pain and swelling in both legs, but didn’t break any bones. Haas plans to return home to Greenville, S.C., to recover.
The golfer “appreciates the support of friends, family and the golf world as a whole, and he has asked for privacy as he processes what has happened,” he said in a statement.