We often tend to think the worst of the drivers around us. They cut us off. They drive too fast or too slow. Often they seem to move heedlessly in their “me first” universe. There is some truth in that. But today let’s talk about some others, heroes who just appear out there suddenly, angels actually, who will go all in for us in the darkest driving moments.
Here are some examples:
Trevor Mills was driving through Kootenay National Park one night back in May. In front of him was a Chevy Tahoe swerving from ditch to oncoming lane, nearly hitting several cars head-on. Calling for help was futile. Now deep in the mountains there was no cell service. It was just a matter of time before the Tahoe veered off the road and tumbled down a 150 foot embankment near Radium Hot Springs. Mills stopped immediately and scaled the steep drop. Reaching the vehicle, he pulled the occupant from the driver’s seat just as the Tahoe twisted and rolled over top of him. His pelvis and ribs were crushed, his heart and lungs were bruised and he suffered internal bleeding. Rescue crews arrived on scene and Mills was airlifted to a Calgary hospital. He’s still recovering after weeks in hospital. The Tahoe driver was arrested for impaired driving and refusing breath samples. Local RCMP hailed Mills as: “…one good samaritan.” No kidding.
In April 1997 Markham Bausman, Rick MacInnis and 13-year-old Dustin MacPhee were riding on a Greyhound bus near Fox Creek, Alberta. Cruising along in the early morning hours they were probably sleeping, unaware that they were about to descend into hell.
The bus was struck by a pickup truck carrying a tank of diesel fuel. Soaked in fuel, the bus driver and 28 passengers were trapped inside. The fire started quickly. Bausman and MacInnis oriented themselves, kicked out windows and helped several passengers to escape. But others were still trapped and injured. One woman was pinned by her legs between the mangled seats. MacInnis realized the only way to free her was to break her foot. The woman agreed and MacInnis wrenched her free.
Once outside MacInnis, badly burned himself, tried in vain to save another woman lying in a pool of flames on the road. Bausman was now also outside in the carnage trying to extinguish the burning body with snow. He saw that Dustin MacPhee, his shoe on fire, was frantically trying to free the crushed legs of the bus driver. Bausman grabbed the boy, pulling him to safety as flames engulfed the trapped driver. He could not be saved.
These men surely performed miracles as only three persons were killed despite the carnage. For their actions on this terrible April night Bausman, MacInnis and MacPhee were awarded the Medal of Bravery by our Governor-General.
Back in June 1984, Joseph Gordon Arcand, Ralph Craftchick, Richard Dickie and William Slater were on the road near Salmon Arm when they came upon a horrific crash scene. A pickup truck had just collided head-on with a propane tanker. The tanker veered off the road, flinging its driver out of the vehicle as it rolled down an embankment. Black smoke and columns of flames erupted from the vehicle.
Rushing to the pickup truck, which now straddled the centre of the Trans-Canada Highway, the men worked to free the couple still trapped inside who were badly injured. The rescue was described as “arduous” as they extracted the trapped couple, all while continually warning off scores of passing motorists who had stopped to investigate.
Moments after freeing the second victim thousands of litres of liquid propane exploded, engulfing the whole scene in a massive fireball. Twenty-three people were severely burned. The Governor-General awarded Arcand, Craftchick, Gould and Slater one of the nation’s highest honours, the Star of Courage, for their actions.
Speaking of bravery medals, how about Sophia LeBlanc of Amherst, Nova Scotia. Back in November of 2018, she was a passenger in her mother’s car when it lost control and flipped upside down in a river near Oxford, N.S. Sophia was able to free her youngest sibling from the car then scale a steep cliff to get to the road and flag down help. The rest of her family were saved by other rescuers. Sophia was six at the time. She became the youngest Nova Scotian ever to receive Canada’s Medal of Bravery.
I’ve never met any of these uncommon Canadian heroes, but they have my deepest thanks for being ordinary drivers one moment and angels the next. On those terrible days and nights they didn’t just save lives. They restored our faith.
