Angeljean Chiaramida
West Newbury’s Anthony Triglione said that a woman is alive today because of men who risked their lives to pull her from a burning car on busy Interstate 95 in Hampton Falls on Monday morning.
Triglione said witnessing the accident reminded him how fragile life is, while deepening his faith in God and the goodness that lies within every human being.
Triglione watched Monday morning’s rescue unfold before his eyes, as a Jeep Cherokee driven by Denise Robinson of Lynn skidded on icy roads, hitting the Route 84 bridge abutment. At first, it was a typical bad weather accident. Soon that changed.
“ ... my second glance out my side-view mirror caught my attention,” Triglione wrote in a letter to The Daily News (see page B4). “Three men were running toward the car, and flames were starting to flicker out from under the hood. Within minutes of these three men risking their own lives to break the window and pull the trapped and severely injured woman out, the car was totally engulfed in flames. The next amazing example of humanity and divine timing took place when an off-duty nurse, who had witnessed what was happening, ran over from the opposite side of the highway to provide critical medical attention.”
Triglione called 911, and something inside him told him to help. By the time he got to her, Robinson’s saviors had her out of the car and on the ground. His job was recording all Robinson’s personal information and getting ice for her bruised forehead. Her “makeshift private citizen emergency response team” consisted of “three business people, a truck driver and a nurse,” Triglione wrote.
Hampton Falls fire Chief Jay Lord said the 911 call came at 8:01 a.m., and only eight minutes later they were at the scene, where they found the Jeep blazing. Blessedly, Robinson was out of the car, Lord said.
“The people who pulled her out of the car absolutely saved her life,” Lord said yesterday. “If you saw that car, it was obvious she was not going to get out of it on her own. If they hadn’t gotten to her, she was done.”
Echoing Lord’s comment was N.H. State Trooper Debra Winters, who handled the accident. Robinson is alive because strangers got involved, overcame their fears and pulled her from a burning car, Winters said.
Lord found Robinson lying 50 feet away from her burning car, covered with the coats of her rescuers. An emergency medical technician, Lord immediately went to work on Robinson, while firefighters put out the fire.
Busy getting Robinson to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, by the time Lord looked up, the Good Samaritans were gone. Winters reported the same. No one got names or had the chance to praise them for their selfless actions. Robinson had a broken leg and hit her head pretty badly, Lord said, but she had “no burns.”
“In accidents, if there isn’t an imminent hazard involved — like fire — it’s best to leave the victim alone and just wait for us. But in a fire situation, all bets are off. Just get the victim out. If she hadn’t been taken out, she’d be dead.”
Recovering at Portsmouth Regional hospital yesterday, 25-year-old Robinson remembered every minute of what happened while she was on her way to work at John Hancock Insurance in Portsmouth. She wasn’t exceeding the 65 mph speed limit, she said, but hit a patch of black ice and skidded into the bridge. The crash jammed the Jeep’s doors and front windows. She realized she was trapped ... in a burning car.
“I saw the flames start under the hood and the car filled up with smoke,” Robinson said. “And I prayed: ‘Please, Jesus, get me out of this car.’ Then I heard someone outside the car saying, ‘I don’t think there’s anyone in there.’”
Robinson got the attention of the man she heard. Soon, the back window was smashed and men pulled her across the console and out the back window.
“I wasn’t afraid because I believe in God, and I knew God would get me out,” Robinson said. “But the men were frantic. I could see it in their faces. They were standing close to the flames. If the car had blown, they would have gone with it.”
Two men pulled her out, another laid down his coat for her, while still another covered her with his coat. When the nurse arrived, she tended Robinson’s injuries. Another man held her hand.
Robinson wishes she knew who her “angels” were, but she never got names or even had a chance to thank them. She wants to thank everyone for obeying the message she believes God sent, telling them they needed to help her.
“I felt like I was in the hands of God because those people wouldn’t have been there without him,” she said. “They could have passed by, but they stopped to save me. They were wonderful. I’m very grateful.”
So is Robinson’s mother, Velma Brock, who said it will be a very special and happy Christmas this year because of those who saved her daughter’s life.
For Triglione, standing witness to an incident illustrating everything good in human beings was gratifying and emotional. After it was over, with a few words of praise for each other, everyone left to get on with their lives. But he believes those involved will treasure the experience their whole lives. He knows he will.
“All of a sudden, we were working as a team together; we bonded,” Triglione said. “These people didn’t do this for recognition but to save another human life. This absolutely strengthened my faith in God and in humanity.”
Those with information on those who went to Robinson’s aid may e-mail information to achiaramida@ecnnews.com.
