Natalia Chi
Matthew Salter saysHis life changed forever after another Good Samaritan helped pull a man out of a burning car earlier this week.
The dramatic moment happened on Monday evening. And now he wants to find the driver and give him a hug.
Oak Park Police said the accident occurred around 7:30 p.m. in the South Harlem 200 block near Oak Park and Forest Park when a car struck a tree.
Salter said that when he learned someone was trapped inside, he didn’t have time to think, he just acted.
“I just put my arm under his armpit and lifted him up,” Salter said. “Another person jumped in, got the bloodied and unresponsive man out of the car and moved him to a safe distance.”
Katie Boschenek, fresh out of nursing school, happened to be driving through the area with her parents.
“I saw Matthew drag this man out of the car and I ran over him,” Bochenek said. “I monitored his pulse and breathing. I kept asking him to stay with me. I did.”
A few minutes later, paramedics arrived and the man was taken to a local hospital. Katie and Matthew want to see the stranger they saved.
“Matthew, me and the other gentlemen, we did the right thing… I wish we could have done more,” Bochenek said.
“The fact that someone was alive in that crash weighs heavily on me and on my heart,” Salter said. I want to meet him and hug him. ”
