Stanley Grenier

Stanley Grenier saved William Santana from burning, Lebanon, Maine, April 15, 2024. Santana, 38, was unconscious and seriously injured with most of his body slumped over in the front, passenger seat after his sedan left a road and struck a tree. The car began smoking and, within minutes, caught fire. A bystander who had witnessed the crash pulled over and moved to assist Santana. The bystander pulled open the driver’s door but was unable to rouse Santana. The bystander, saying he felt continuing the rescue was too risky, then returned to the side of the road and flagged down another driver, who pulled over and used a fire extinguisher to minimal effect. Meanwhile, Grenier, 50, commercial painter, stopped at the scene. Grenier moved to Santana’s vehicle, where flames burned on the passenger side, crawled into the unoccupied driver’s seat on his knees, and attempted several times to wake Santana. He then grasped Santana’s left arm and pulled him up and over the center console while crawling backward. Once Grenier moved Santana to the driver’s seat, he placed his right arm under Santana’s left arm and helped Santana, now semi-conscious, to his feet. Grenier then led Santana to safety away from the vehicle where responding emergency personnel collected him. Santana was transported to a local hospital, where he remained for a week receiving treatment for a fractured skull, broken neck, and a punctured lung; he recovered within six months. Grenier was uninjured.

2024-0000127-10577