Fiery rescue: Watch Stanislaus deputy, good Samaritan rescue driver from crashed truck
A Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy and a witness almost certainly saved the life of a Modesto man they pulled from his vehicle as it caught fire following a rollover crash Sunday afternoon in Knights Ferry.
Bloodied and banged up, at the very least, Modesto resident Steven Riggs was pulled through the broken rear window of his pickup truck cab as flames began to shoot out from beneath the hood.
The crash occurred about 2:40 p.m. when for unknown reasons Riggs’ vehicle went off Highway 108-120 near Willms Road and rolled over as went down an embankment.
Deputy Saul McNaul, who was patrolling in the area, saw the crash, quickly climbed over a gate and sprinted toward the crashed truck, which was on its side. Another witness, John Phelps, already had reached Riggs and was reaching down through the driver’s side door to help him out.
“We have to pull you out!” either Phelps or McNaul can be heard yelling to Riggs in video of the incident captured on McNaul’s body camera. When Phelps was unable to pull Riggs up through the driver’s door, he and the deputy urged the driver to try to stand up or push himself to the rear window.
From the rear window, the men were able to pull Riggs from the truck. He was extricated about a minute after McNaul joined Phelps in working to free Riggs.
The men pulled the driver maybe 20 yards from the truck, but as the fire began to spread to grass, they called to other passersby to help move him farther. Riggs lay largely motionless, crying out that his back hurt and he could not get up.
Shortly afterward, with a Cal Fire crew on scene and Riggs receiving medical care, a witness also tending to him pointed to McNaul and said, “This guy right here saved his life.”
California Highway Patrol Modesto-area spokesman Thomas Olsen said in a text to The Bee, “No doubt they saved his life. He was not getting out of that vehicle on his own.”
Olsen plans to hold a news conference Thursday morning at the CHP office in Modesto to recognize the actions of Phelps and McNaul.
The officer said he’s spoken with Riggs daily as the driver recovers from his injuries at a local hospital. Riggs is “in good spirits and extremely thankful,” Olsen said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 10:25 AM.
