Manitoba man saves teen from burning vehicle

A Manitoba man is recovering emotionally after rescuing a teen driver from a burning vehicle Friday afternoon.

Dillon Vincent, the co-owner of a fertilizer and weed company, was leaving a job site when he came across a single-vehicle rollover just before 2 p.m. near the intersection of Plessis Road and Dawson Road South.

“It looked like a vehicle had just swerved off the road, and there were people standing on the road,” Vincent told Global News at his home in East St. Paul, Man., on Saturday. “There was one girl unconscious on the road, and the vehicle was starting to burn. There were flames coming from under the hood.”

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Moments after arriving on the scene, Vincent said he spotted the driver trapped inside the vehicle.

“I told him to help me to try and save his life, and he twisted his body around so I could grab him under the arms, and I was able to pull him though the window and drag him away from the vehicle before the flames got higher,” he said.

Vincent recalls the vehicle bursting into flames just minutes later.

“You couldn’t recognize the vehicle. It was completely in flames,” he said.

All seven teens in the vehicle were taken to hospital, including one by air, police told Global News. As of Saturday afternoon, police said just three kids, including the driver, remain in hospital in stable condition.

On Friday, the City of Winnipeg had initially said five occupants of the vehicle were transported to hospital, with two in critical condition, another two in unstable condition and one in stable condition.

Vincent hasn’t seen the teens since but said he was thinking about their recovery all night.

“I think I have calmed down and I’m glad to hear that the kids are all recovering,” he said.

Police are investigating what led to the crash.