Three teenagers who were saved by the man being hailed the “Hummer hero” are sharing their story.
Last Friday, Darrell Krushelnicki put his own life in danger to save four others. He drove his Hummer into a speeding vehicle that was headed right for three teens and a child, who were crossing the street.
“We didn’t even see the other car coming at us,” recalls 15 year old Janice Marett.
On August 31st, Marett was walking with her friends, Kyle McInnes, 15, and Chase Fediuk, 14, and Fediuk’s three year old cousin Ava, when she pushed the button at a cross walk at the intersection on 84th Avenue and 83rd Street. When the lights started flashing, they proceeded to cross the street.
“All we heard was a huge BOOM!” Marett explains.
Police say the driver of a Pontiac was driving with what appeared to be no intentions of stopping. Krushelnicki saw the car coming and rammed his Hummer into the side of the car to stop it from hitting the group of pedestrians.
“He was going so fast that he kept going off to the side of the road, the car that was speeding at us, and the Hummer just took him right out,” says Marett.
“(The car) was really close to us, I know that. We didn’t even know it was there until we heard the sound, and then we looked over and there was a wrecked up Hummer,” says Fediuk adding, “There were pieces falling right beside us, from the Hummer.”
All three teens say they were shaken up from the accident. They say if it wasn’t for Krushelnicki’s heroic actions, they could have all been seriously injured or dead.
“If he wasn’t there at that time, i’m pretty sure me and my friends would be dead,” says Marett.
“I would have been dead, no doubt about that,” says Fediuk.
“It could have been all of us. It was a pretty frightening experience,” adds McInnes.
All three of the teens want to thank the “Hummer hero” from the bottom of their hearts.
“He was a true hero for putting his life in jeopardy for four kids he didn’t even know, it’s amazing,” says Marett.
Officers say the driver of the car was going about 50km over the posted speed limit, and was talking on a cell phone. The 32 year old driver is facing dangerous driving charges.
With files from Slav Kornik.