If not for the quick thinking and selfless actions of a man who went out of his way to help a stranger, Christopher Jerome Kale, 37, of Claremont, may have died when his 1995 Chevy Blazer burst into flames on the side of the road Friday morning.
Marvin Stanley, 33, of Conover, said he saw the vehicle in the ditch at about 10:30 a.m. on the eastbound lane at 1120 N.C. 16 North. Its tires were spinning and its engine was racing and Stanley said he thought the driver was just someone who was stuck, frustrated and having a bad day.
"All you could hear was the engine racing," he said. Stanley was test-driving a car for Alray Tire and Muffler and decided to stop and tell the driver that if he didn't stop racing the motor, he'd blow the engine.
When he saw blood and foam coming from Kale's mouth, he realized the problem was more serious than he'd thought. "I just knew he needed help immediately," Stanley said.
That's when he heard the rear tire explode.
He shut off the vehicle and took the keys out. After making sure the driver was breathing and seeing he was conscious but incoherent, Stanley decided he needed to get Kale out of there because the tire was smoking and he was afraid it was about to catch fire.
Kale was too big for Stanley to move without help so he flagged down a few drivers. One of them had a fire extinguisher and used it to try to extinguish the tire that had burst into flames, but the tire quickly re-ignited, Stanley said.
"We got him out and away from the car. By that time, it was on fire pretty good," Stanley said.
When he went outside to see if he could help, Tri-City Electronics Sales Manager Steven Banghart said he saw 2-foot flames shooting out of the driver's window.
"The inside was fully engulfed in flames," he said. "They saved that guy's life — absolutely."
Stanley doesn't think of himself as a hero though — just a guy who was in the right place at the right time and did the right thing with the help of some good people.
"I saw a lot of good people out there. I'm glad others were nice enough to stop," he said. "I hope other people would do the same for me if I were in that situation."
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