Hero who rescued driver would do it again

The man who climbed onto a burning semi-trailer to save an injured truck driver from the wreckage on a Gold Coast motorway says he'd do it again.

A trainee pilot who rescued an injured truck driver from his burning, semi-trailer on Gold Coast motorway says he'd happily do it again.

Athen Barnaby, 33, climbed onto the truck's cabin and pulled the dazed driver from the wreckage after it crashed and burst into flames on the Pacific Motorway near Nerang on Tuesday afternoon.

"I was just in the right place, right time, and I'd gladly do it ten times over," Mr Barnaby told the Today Show.

The truck was reportedly hit by a flock of birds which caused the driver to lose control.

"I saw the accident, it happened right in front of me ... we were all yelling at him saying `mate you've got to get out of there it's going to blow'."

Mr Barnaby said he jumped on top of the flaming truck wearing only thongs on his feet.

"To be honest I didn't feel the heat much at all ... I had my thick thongs on and I just climbed straight up."


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world