Positivity: Waynesville soldier rescues driver from burning truck

The story is out of Topeka, KS, and is relayed in a Rolla, MO newspaper:

Published: Thursday, November 1, 2007 11:30 PM CDT

A Waynesville soldier who will deploy to Iraq around Thanksgiving recently rescued a driver who went off Interstate 70 near Topeka, Kan. The incident occurred on Sept. 30.

Tim Larrington, a sergeant first class now preparing to leave for Iraq at Fort Riley, KS, and his wife, Sandra, told what happened that day to a reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. At the time, he and his wife were headed for a Red Lobster in Topeka to enjoy a quiet Sunday evening dinner.

Larrington said he was cruising westbound on I-70 when he saw a vehicle headed eastbound careen off the road.

His wife did not see a thing, but Larrington turned around at the next exit.

As the Larringtons neared the accident site, they saw smoke rising from deep in a ditch. Sandra Larrington called 911.

After working his way down a step hill, Larrington found Daniel Milligan, a 23-year-old resident of Manhattan, KS, unable to get out of his burning pickup truck.

Larrington also discovered that Milligan had a broken right leg. Larrington said he told Milligan, “Dude, I am going to get you out of the truck.”

With help from Milligan, Larrington was able to hold open the driver’s side door and pulled Milligan from the truck and up the steep hill to the guardrail.

By the time the two made it to the guardrail, the pickup and a motorcycle Milligan was hauling in the back of the truck were consumed in flames.

Milligan’s leg required surgery that evening at a Topeka hospital.

Milligan was not sure what caused him to crash as he drove home from racing his motorcycle south of Topeka that afternoon. Kansas Highway Patrol troopers could not figure it out either.

The accident scene was not visible to drivers on I-70. Larrington was the only driver to see Milligan crash.

Later, after Tim Larrington called Milligan’s mother, Mindy Milligan said she would forever be thankful to the Larringtons. “It’s a miracle,” she said. …..

Go here for the rest of the story.