Michael E. Coy helped rescue Samuel D. Orbovich from burning, St. Paul, Minnesota, April 18, 2024. Orbovich, 71, remained unconscious in his sport utility vehicle after it left a highway and struck the base of a lamppost, causing fuel to leak and then ignite. The vehicle came to rest with the driver’s side inches from a guide rail adjacent to the highway at the base of a grassy hillside. Flames spread beneath the vehicle to its passenger side, igniting the grass there. Coy, 52, delivery driver, was traveling on the same highway and witnessed the accident. As he neared the vehicle, he saw the flames and Orbovich, his head slumped over a deployed airbag on the steering wheel. Coy’s truck stopped and he jumped out and ran to Orbovich’s vehicle, reaching the driver’s side. He pulled on the handles of both doors, but realizing they were blocked by the guardrail, ran around the vehicle to the passenger side, where flames were burning the grass. Coy opened the front, passenger door and kneeled on the front seat as flames from beneath and beside the vehicle licked at his feet and lower legs, causing him to move about to keep from being burned. Coy helped Orbovich remove his seat belt, then helped Orbovich position himself to sit on the console with his feet against the driver’s door, intending to drag Orbovich backwards out the passenger door. Meanwhile, other bystanders outside tried in vain to open the driver’s door or break the window. Flames soon entered the passenger compartment through the door opening and also through the dashboard, vents, and floorboards, and the blistering heat forced Coy out through the open passenger door. Flames soon fully engulfed the passenger compartment, blocking Coy from re-entering. Coy called out to others to break the window as he returned to the driver’s door, indicating Orbovich would have to be removed feet-first. A state highway worker, using a window-punch tool, broke out both driver’s-side windows, and Orbovich pushed his legs through the front driver’s window opening. Coy and the other bystanders grasped Orbovich’s legs and pulled him through the opening, then carried him to the highway, where Coy, who had a history of emphysema, had to let go as he was having trouble breathing due to the smoke. The others took Orbovich further to safety, setting him down on the highway behind a vehicle to shield him from the fiery conditions. Orbovich was taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the accident. Coy was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor burns to his face, arm and legs. They both recovered.
