‘You get in that moment and you just hope that if you were in that same position that (someone would help you),’ says Stoney Creek man after Sunday’s crash
A terrifying vehicle fire on Highway 400 turned a family road trip into a harrowing rescue mission on Sunday.
Mike Holguin, who says he was en route to Haliburton from Stoney Creek with his wife and two young daughters, is being credited with saving a young Barrie man’s life after pulling him from his burning vehicle which had slammed into the centre median just north of King Road on Dec. 28.
Holguin told BarrieToday that they had just passed King City when the temperature plummeted, causing the rain-slicked pavement to flash-freeze into a sheet of ice. The result, he said, was multiple vehicles in the ditch, and a sea of four-way hazard lights as traffic began to slow down due to the slippery conditions.
“The roads weren’t treated, but everyone knew the forecast was for freezing rain. You could start to see a few cars in the ditches and then about a mile ahead, you could see everyone start to put on their four-ways,” he said.
Mike Holguin, shown with his wife Angela and their two young daughters, is being hailed a hero after pulling a driver from a burning car on Highway 400 near King City on Sunday. | Image supplied
It was then that Holguin said the vehicle that had initially been behind him went around and subsequently hit the centre median hard.
“When he struck the median, it was a very significant impact … The front end then just lit on fire,” said Holguin.
“You could not tell the difference if you were on an ice rink or on a paved road. It was scary,” he added of the conditions.
Holguin said as soon as that happened, he pulled over into the third lane and told his wife to take over in the driver’s seat in order to pull their vehicle safely to the shoulder of the highway while he went to check on the driver.
“We could see the fire. I was worried the doors were going to be jammed,” he said.
Holguin says the driver, who appeared to be under the age of 20 and shared that he was from Barrie, was responsive and conscious, albeit dazed from the deployment of the air bag.
“His seatbelt was a little bit stuck, so I basically yanked it and then yanked him out. You could feel the heat and there was already smoke in the car. It was going to go on really quick just because of how it hit,” he said.
After getting the man out of the car, Holguin says he quickly ushered him to safety on the shoulder of the highway while they awaited the arrival of emergency crews.
A social-media post from the OPP around 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 noted all northbound lanes were closed from Major Mackenzie Drive to Lloydtown-Aurora Road due to icy conditions and multiple collisions. The highway remained closed until approximately 3:15 p.m., police say.
“It was pretty intense. From the moment the car was on fire, it could have been a matter of seconds. From the extent of the damage, the car went up in flames pretty quick,” Holguin said. “He was super fortunate that all of the air bags went off and that he was able to get out.”
Despite being hailed a hero online for his quick-thinking actions, Holguin says he simply did “the human thing” and what was needed in the heat of the moment.
“I have had a couple people ask me … but it was just such a human reaction. You get in that moment and you just hope that if you were in that same position that (someone would help you),” he said.
A multitude of things ran through his mind as he approached the burning vehicle, Holguin acknowledged, including whether the driver was conscious and breathing, the number of people inside and was there a family involved.
“Those are the things that run through your head,” he said. “It was just a split-second thing and a human reaction. It wasn’t about courage. It was literally that I was right there … and I had to go help whoever it was.”
After getting the stunned driver to safety, Holguin says he and his wife were able to get the driver calmed down enough to provide his mother’s phone number. After being reassured that her son was safe, Holguin said she quickly made her way to the scene from their Barrie home.
Since the crash, the couple has kept in touch with the young man and his family, telling BarrieToday that despite how horrific the crash looked, the young man is doing well and at home safe and sound.
“It was touching hearing back from the parents and he is doing well,” he said.
Looking back, Holguin says there were so many different factors at play that could have changed the outcome, but, ultimately, things worked out.
“I was thinking about my kids and my wife, too, and safety. That could have been anybody’s mother, grandmother, kids in there. At the end of the day, somebody has got to be able to do the right thing and be a good human and make sure another life is taken care of.”