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FORT MYERS, Florida (KXAN) – A Florida veteran says his military training kicked in during a fiery seven-vehicle pileup Monday in Fort Myers.
It began when a semi-truck rear ended a car, causing it to catch fire.
Patric Hewitt, who served four tours in Iraq, watched the pileup unfold and quickly ran to the burning vehicle and began to pull people out.
“Me and another gentleman got the car window busted and dragged the first person out,” said Hewitt.
The driver, James Cwanek, 70, of Fort Myers, and the front-passenger, Austin Perkins, 34, of Minnesota, were transported to Tampa Regional Hospital in critical condition.
Krisitn R. Lee, 39, of Iowa, who was riding in the back seat died at the scene.
A total of seven vehicles were involved in the chain-reaction crash.
“Others were confused, so I took command,” Hewitt said. “I put orders in. I just made everybody do what they needed to do.”
Witnesses said what Hewitt did was nothing short of heroic.
“I’m not a hero. I’m just trained to save lives,” he said. “As soon as the tractor trailer hit the silver car, it burst into flames, at that point, I pulled off the road and ran to the car.”
Hewitt said his military training kicked in during the situation.
“A life is a life, and my job is to help people, so my life comes after everybody else’s.”
