MENDON, Mass. — Two Good Samaritans pulled a suspected drunk driver from his burning SUV in Mendon Friday night, after he crashed into a utility pole and flipped the vehicle on its side.
Julie Blackburn and her husband Jason Coxall were inside their Providence Street, home around 7 p.m. when they heard the commotion.
"Just sat down on the couch and the lights went off. There's no sound for a second, and then all of a sudden we heard it was a bang, almost like thunder," Blackburn said. "It looked like something out of a movie basically, just a car sliding by with flames coming out of it."
As Coxall dialed 911, Blackburn and a man who had stopped ran to the aid of the driver, Jason Badeau of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Blackburn climbed on top of the overturned truck, held the passenger door open and helped the other Good Samaritan pull him out.
"The man inside was screaming and flailing around," Blackburn said. So we told him, 'Just be calm, and I'll hold the door up. Push yourself up, and we'll pull you out.'"
An ambulance rushed Badeau to Milford Regional Medical Center for minor injuries and was quickly discharged.
Mendon police said Saturday Badeau faces charges of OUI, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked lanes violation. Badeau was not arrested and will be summonsed to court, police said.
Still sore at his home on Saturday night, Badeau told FOX25 he hadn't been drinking and that he had been driving home from work after a quick stop at his nephew's house.
"My front end kept pulling to the right, and I pulled back, and it pulled back that way, and I hit the pole," Badeau said. "I think it was just a mechanical malfunction on the truck."
Badeau said he is more focused on thanking the good Samaritans who helped him.
"I just want to thank them for my life, giving me a chance to still be here today," Badeau said. "Because my truck was on fire, and I didn't think I was going to make it out."
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