On Wednesday afternoon, a woman was driving her van on Hwy. 97A between Enderby and Armstrong, just south of the drive-in theatre, when she was involved in a crash with a semi.
The 49-year-old driver was killed. Her two-year-old grandson, who was also in the car, survived, thanks to the quick thinking of a courageous witness.
Bill Clark was driving home from work that afternoon when he saw the accident happen before his eyes. He went straight to the burning van to look for survivors, and saw the little boy still in his car seat.
“You don’t even think about it, you just do it,” said Clark. “You’ve got to get it done. I tried unbuckling it and everything was tight so I had to start pulling the straps and stuff apart. I got his arms out and his legs were still buckled in, and then the flames started coming up underneath and started scorching my leg. That’s when I started getting panicky and really had to work fast to get him out of there.”
Once Clark had the boy free from his restraints the pair managed to get away from the burning wreckage without major injury.
“He was stunned,” said Clark of the boy’s reaction. When he did pick him up, the little boy started to cry.
Clark actually knew the driver and the little boy’s grandmother – 49-year-old Peggy Armstrong.
“I knew Peg from before George and her got married,” said Clark.
While he would disagree, there is no other way to describe Bill Clark than as a hero – his actions directly accountable for saving the life of a two-year-old boy.
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