Jeffrey Schmidt

Jeffrey Schmidt helped rescue a man from burning, Auburn, Washington, May 2, 2022. In the afternoon, a 36-year-old truck driver, whose lower body was severely burned, was pinned inside the cab of a tractor trailer after it overturned on an exit ramp and fell onto the shoulder and guide rail. His legs were stuck and he shouted for help. At some point, fuel leaked onto the road. Among the motorists who stopped as the fire broke out in the cab was Schmidt, 30, a nonprofit career coordinator, who learned the driver was still inside. Schmidt moved to the cab’s rear, where he kicked the window behind the driver’s seat but was unable to break it open. Seeking something to smash the glass, Schmidt went to the front of the cab, then returned to the rear of the cab where he used a hammer to break out two rear-facing windows. Schmidt crouched, reached inside, and grasped the driver’s body, later comparing the heat inside to putting bare hands into an oven. Schmidt repeatedly tugged the driver, who was slightly larger than he was, but Schmidt could not free him on his own as he suffered cuts and burns to his hands. Dark smoke issued through the window openings and melting plastic dripped onto Schmidt’s clothing. Another man joined Schmidt by reaching inside. With each grabbing an arm, together, they pulled the driver out of the cab and onto the shoulder. With help from others, Schmidt then moved the driver to safety on a hillside, where he and the man waited with the driver for arriving first-responders. The driver, who was hospitalized for three months, suffered burns on about half of his body, the worst of which were to his legs and feet, which resulted in the amputation of his toes. Schmidt, who had served in the Marine Corps, was treated at a Veterans Affairs hospital for a blistering burn on his lower, right leg and the cuts and burns to his hands, and discharged within a few hours.

2024-0000199-10479