Allie Spillyards

Good Samaritans Upright Van to Save Man's Life

It was a display of the kind of super human strength possible only when adrenaline takes control. Friday a dozen or so strangers made a joint decision to lift an overturned vehicle off of a man trapped following a crash in just moments when they feared there wasn’t time to spare.

Watch the raw video that was posted on Facebook as strangers made a joint decision to lift an overturned vehicle off of a man trapped following a crash.

The crash happened just after 8 p.m. Friday night at the intersection of Peavy and Garland Road.

“We heard the initial screech and then a crash and then another screech and another crash, and then it just kind of kept going,” said Rob Murta.

Murta made it from his house to the back of his yard in just moments.

“I heard someone yell, oh my God. He’s trapped under here. He’s trapped under here,” said Murta.

That’s when he and others sprinted from all different directions.

They could hear the man underneath screaming to be freed. And in those moments, Murta doesn’t remember a discussion or even a plan… just a shared notion of what must come next.

“We were actually able to all grab it by the ladder racks and lift it up enough that he kind of squirmed out, and then he said something about his kids being inside still,” said Murta.

So they kept pushing, eventually lifting the van until it was righted on all four tires.

“If you could have heard the screams from everybody lifting, it was every ounce of strength that every person had in order to get that up… You know you see it in movies and things like that or sometimes on the news or something, but it was amazing really,” said Murta.

One witness said the van landed partially on the curb when it overturned, which is why they believe the man underneath was able to survive.

One week later, the question on all of their minds is how he’s recovering.

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