Sean L. James rescued three children from burning, Emporia, Kansas, June 6, 2022. Madilyn McNack, 6, and her brothers, Joseh McNack, 2, and Alexander Wilson-McNack, 8, were trapped inside a sport utility vehicle after an accident in which the SUV left an interstate highway and struck a tree. Their mother, who was driving, was pinned between the steering wheel and her seat. James, 47, oil and gas inspector, was driving ahead of the SUV when he saw it leave the road through his rearview mirror. He stopped at the scene and noticed smoke issuing from the SUV. Tree branches blocked his attempt to get to the driver’s door, so James moved to the passenger side, where he told the mother to unlock the doors. When she was unable to do so, James attempted to open the rear, passenger-side door, pulling the handle off in the process before Madilyn, in the rear, passenger-side seat, unlocked the door from the inside. James opened the door, leaned inside the vehicle amid smoke, and unbuckled Madilyn before pulling her out and carrying her about 30 feet to safety. James returned to the vehicle and reentered through the same door. On his hands and knees, he crawled across the back seat to Joseh while flames extended across the dashboard and into the passenger compartment. With the boy’s help, James unbuckled his car seat, grasped Joseh, crawled backward out of the vehicle and placed him next to Madilyn. James then reentered a third time . James returned to his hands and knees and crawled across the back seat as thick smoke obscured his view. While James searched for Alexander, his mother stated the boy was last in the vehicle’s rear cargo area, which prompted James to reach over the rear seat, where James’s hand brushed against Alexander. James grasped the boy and pulled him over the seat before carrying him to safety with the other children away from the vehicle, which was soon engulfed in flames. Madilyn suffered partial paralysis as a result of the crash. Joseh suffered a broken left collarbone and Alexander suffered a laceration on his face; both recovered. James suffered smoke inhalation; he recovered. The children’s mother died. A highway patrol officer determined she was trapped in the vehicle and could not be rescued given the intensity and extent of the flames by the time her children had been rescued.
10401-Sean James, L.
Fate, TX