Statesboro resident and good samaritan Vernon Osgood, who works for Yates Astro, was getting lunch at the convenience store located at the interstation where the crash occurred when he heard the crash. He did not see the actually impact, but saw one of the cars flipped over and noticed it was smoking.
He ran to the car to help and saw that the two occupants of the car were entrapped and the car was smoking pretty bad. There were other good samaritans joining him in trying to get the couple out of the vehicle.
Osgood then described a man running to his truck and getting an ax. The man returned and started busting out a window in the vehicle and using the ax to pry open one of the doors. The fire had become heavily involved at this point.
Brian Hendrix, Bulloch County EMS Deputy Director identified the other good samaritans as employees of Ellis Wood Contracting, employees of Walsh Custom Surfaces and an unidentified soldier.
These men are heroes
"There is no question all of these men are heroes. They put their lives in tremendous danger to extricate this couple from their burning car," said Brian Hendrix. "Several of us went through five fire extinguishers trying to beat back the fire enough for the samaritans to extricate the couple. The car was a giant fireball seconds after they were pulled out of the vehicle."
Crash occurred at Brooklet/Denmark Road and Hwy. 67
Bulloch County emergency agencies were dispatched to a two vehicle car crash on Hwy. 67 at the Brooklet Denmark Road intersection at noon on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Moments after the initial call was dispatched by Bulloch County 911, they updated emergency responders that one of the vehicles was overturned with occupants trapped inside and the vehicle.
Brian Hendrix was in the area at the time of the accident and was one of the first emergency responders on the scene.
Hendrix confirmed to Bulloch 911 that there were entrapments and the car was on fire.
Flown to burn center
Bulloch County EMS paramedics requested two helicopters to transport the couple to the hospital. Lifestar and Air Evac Medical helicopters landed at Nevils elementary, which was just a few blocks from the scene. Paramedics transported the couple from the scene to Nevils Elementary to meet the helicopters.
The couple, who Hendrix said were in critical condition, were flown the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta for treatment.
Others transported to EGRMC
Bulloch County EMS transported the three occupants of the second vehicle by ambulance to East Georgia Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Bulloch County Fire and Rescue, Bulloch County Sheriff's Deputies and Georgia State Patrol officers responded to the scene as well.
There are no additional details available on the accident at this time. GSP is in charge of the accident investigation.
Red light at dangerous intersection weeks away
Bulloch County residents who live in the Nevils and Denmark communities have been working to get a red light installed at this dangerous intersection for years. Contractors were at the intersection working on the final improvements for the installation of the red lights. They should be operational in the next few weeks according to one of the contractors at the scene.
