Crash Rescue

Unconscious, and trapped in a blazing car, I had no idea that a stranger was battling to save my life

BY KATHERINE STYMAN

Katherine Styman is a 39-year-old mother of three from South Australia. She works in the hospitality industry and has just become the proud grandmother of a beautiful little boy.

IT WAS 3AM, a cold and wet night, on August 21, 2010. I had just left a local club to travel the ten kilometres home, when I lost control of my car on Grand Junction Road in Hope Valley, which is on the outskirts of Adelaide.

I crashed into a stationary car, then hit a tree. The car was parked at the front of a house, about three metres away from the tree in the corner of the yard. The force of the impact was such that it shunted the parked car several metres forwards. I was knocked out cold, and totally oblivious to my injuries. Worse still, I had no idea that a fire had started under the bonnet of my car. It then set the tree on fire.

Driving in the car behind me was a young man, who I later found out was called Jared. He saw the accident occur, and stopped to help me out of the blazing car wreck. He put his own life in danger when he got into the back seat to try to undo my seat belt. This wasn’t easy because I’d hit the stationary car on my driver’s side and my seat belt was crushed into the console.

With my seat belt undone, Jared then smashed open the driver’s window to drag me out as I had still not regained consciousness. He bravely did this while my car and the tree were burning. Woken by the crash, the homeowners came out to investigate. Jared told them to ring emergency

services while he continued to help me from the car. Once he got me out and away from the blaze, he laid me on the ground. All the while, I was unconscious.

I owe my life to Jared and I consider him a friend due to the special bond created the night he dragged me to safety. I was rushed to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a serious condition, having sustained five pelvic fractures, internal bleeding, smoke inhalation and, of course, the head injury that had rendered me unconscious.

I eventually woke up in the intensive care unit a day later. I spent a few weeks in hospital, during which time Jared visited me to see how I was recovering. He also continued to keep in contact after I was discharged. He says that although the events of that night initially shocked him, he never once hesitated to help. In addition, he doesn’t believe that he did anything special. On that, I totally disagree with him and am so very glad that he didn’t get hurt in the process.

Today, nearly six years later, Jared and I still catch up at least once a month and often reminisce about the events of that night and how we met. Jared is my angel, my friend.

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