I was the last one to make it out of the inferno alive, says driver who rolled out on to road

THE driver of a 4x4 has told how he was the last person to escape alive from the air crash, saying: “Two seconds later and it would have been me in there.”

The 71-year-old grandfather was immediately in front of the wedding limousine in which chauffeur Maurice Abrahams died. He said he jumped from his moving BMW X3 after the 1950s Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 on Saturday.

The BMW driver, who has not been named, said: “I heard a deafening bang. Something went through the rear windscreen of my car, causing it all to cave in. I then had flames engulfing the vehicle. I was panicking and frightened because I thought the car was going to blow up. My immediate thoughts were, ‘What the hell is going on? Get the hell out of here’, so I jumped out and rolled over. I was the last one to make it out of the inferno alive.”

After the driver escaped from his car, he described how he walked around in a state of shock. “I thought I was going to die in my own car. I feel unbelievably lucky to be alive,” he said. He was seen by Barry and Sheila Finch, both 69, who had been in their garden yards from the crash scene.

The couple ran through thick black smoke to help the injured as metal and ash rained down on them.

The Finches took the BMW driver into their house to care for him. Mrs Finch said: “The guy was wandering around dazed. I saw he had been badly burnt and I tried to help his wounds using my first aid kit.”

The couple, who run a financial business, also tended to other injured people in their garden.

Mr Finch added: “We didn’t do that much. Anyone would’ve done the same.” The BMW driver said the Finches actions were “heroic” and that they deserved praise.

The Finches, who have lived near the air field for 15 years, have had concerns before over the safety of the planes. Mrs Finch said the air show has dramatically increased in recent years with larger planes being displayed.