“I told one of my kids it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing that happens,” Washington said.
Washington, 62, said he was driving on Cheaha Road near the turnoff to Lake Chinnabee with plans to go fishing when he happened upon a car on fire and a man who needed help.
The driver of the car flagged Washington down and he helped get an injured man out of the backseat of the burning car. Washington, a volunteer chaplain at Regional Medical Center, said there were three men in the car when it struck a tree and the hood ignited.
Shortly after Washington freed the passenger from the wreck, the whole car went up in flames.
Washington said he stayed with the three injured men until Clay County Rescue Squad arrived.
David Holcombe, director of the Clay County Rescue Squad, said this afternoon he believed the three men involved in the accident were “doing better.”
Holcombe said two of the men were airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham and the third was treated at RMC. He was uncertain of their injuries.
Jim Wilson, chaplain at RMC, described Washington as a good guy.
“He’s quiet and unassuming, but obviously willing to respond to dangerous situations,” Wilson said.
Wilson said he first heard the story when he asked Washington what’s been happening in his life and the volunteer told him offhandedly about the good deed.
“He stayed to take care of them until they had help. Some people would have passed by,” he said.
Source- Anniston Star