A woman was pulled from her wrecked vehicle Monday evening near Lucky just moments before it was engulfed in flames.
Debbie Foster, 55, was pulled from her vehicle and was not harmed by the flames, however, she was airlifted to Erlanger due to injuries sustained in a two-car crash on Lucky Road.
“The first thing I noticed was the car was in the air,” said Jimmy Walker, who was talking to a neighbor in his driveway when the accident took place. “When we got over there to her, we didn’t want to move her because we thought it might worsen her injuries. Then we heard a pop and smoke started rolling and we knew we had to get her out of there. They pulled her out while I held her neck.”
Alex Pedigo was mowing a nearby lawn and heard the collision over the sound of his mower. He rushed over and was surprised at how quickly the vehicle was consumed by flames.
“It just went up,” said Pedigo.
The accident took place around 5:30 p.m. Monday in the northern part of the county on Lucky Road, which is in the general Dibrell area. Foster had reportedly slowed to make a left turn onto Bald Knob when her SUV was rear-ended by a Chevy Tahoe driven by Juan Torres Soto, 20.
The force of impact knocked the Foster vehicle across the intersection and spun it around 180 degrees. The Soto vehicle suffered significant front-end damage and its airbag deployed. Soto was one of the three men who pulled Foster from the SUV along with Walker and another concerned citizen.
The Foster vehicle was completely engulfed by the time volunteer firefighters could reach the rural wreck scene. The SUV was destroyed, it’s tires melted off.
Walker downplayed the act of heroism in saving Foster’s life.
“I think anybody else would have done the same thing,” said Walker.
Sheriff’s deputy Kelly Carter said Soto was cited for not having a driver license. As for why Soto didn’t slow down, that is not known.
“He said he didn’t see her turning, but I don’t know why,” said Carter.
It was the second accident worked by the sheriff’s department at that same spot Monday. Nearby residents say it is a common spot for accidents with a posted speed limit 55 mph. There is a hill leading up to the intersection, but there is visibility for at least 300 feet.