ABOVE: Man reunited with firefighting ‘angels’ that saved him from beneath a truck. Carey Marsden reports.
TORONTO – An 80-year-old man thanked the “angels” who rescued him from beneath a van after a traffic accident last month.
The crash happened on Nov. 26 near Steeles Avenue and Fenmar Drive. Bruno Deotto was driving his Ford Focus when it collided with a tractor trailer, trapping him underneath.
Deotto made a trip to the fire station Wednesday to thank each one of the firefighters who helped rescue him.
“I cannot say thank you enough to these guys,” he said. “Soon as they said… would you like to go there? Oh sure. If I have to be carried by stretcher, we’ve got to thank them.”
When firefighters first arrived at the crash scene, Acting Captain of Rescue Squad 313 Michael Langford says they thought it would be a “recovery” and not a rescue.
Watch the video below: (Nov. 26) Man rescued from beneath truck after being trapped for almost 3 hours.
The tractor-trailer had ended up on top of the car, which was up against a wall. Landford said usually, crews can safely remove the person from the car but because of the truck and the car being “corkscrewed” around Deotto,
they had to cut away at the car.
The firefighters worked for three hours to rescue Deotto. They had to raise the truck and brace it so it wouldn’t fall before they could start to cut away at the car piece by piece.
“it was a very cold day, but you know what the guys wouldn’t stop. Would not take a break, would not stop until this gentleman was out,” district fire chief Michael Ancio said Wednesday. “We don’t always get to meet the people afterwards, so it’s nice that he reached out.”
While crews worked, Deotto said one firefighter talked to him, asking him about his wife and kids, and helped keep him calm.
“I tell you, it was the feeling that I cannot describe it by words it was something in my heart that I will always cherish,” Deotto said.
– With files from Carey Marsden
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