Five rescued from burning wreckage

John Baynum was driving home from a friend’s house near Bridgeville when he spotted two vehicles engulfed in flames. He didn’t mean to be a hero. He just acted on instinct.

“It didn’t even cross my mind to do it or not,” he said. “I just went ahead and did it – there was no question in my head.”

Delaware State Police said preliminary investigations suggest the accident was caused when a 2000 Ford Explorer driven by Abigail Carmean ran a stop sign while driving south on Chaplins Chapel Road Sunday, Aug. 29. Carmean, 26, of Greenwood, hit a 2007 Mercury headed east on Redden Road. Officials said both cars burst into flames upon impact.

Baynum rushed to the Explorer, where he said an inidentified person was already pulling Carmean and her two children from the car. He heard a voice calling for help from inside the Milan and rushed to the other vehicle.

“I’m not afraid of fire, by no means,” he said.

“It was hot enough to singe the hair on your arms before you even got close to it. But I didn’t feel it.”

He tried to open one of the back doors, he said, but the handle snapped off.

He was able to pry the door open where it had buckled near the bottom. He grabbed Beverly M. Williams, 48, of Georgetown and pulled her from the rear passenger seat.

Baynum caught a glimpse of a young man slumped over in the front passenger seat. After he moved Williams a safe distance, he returned to the car for Justin Davis, 20, of Lewes.

He wasn’t sure Davis was alive until he set him down near his mother and saw his chest rising and falling.

Baynum said an unknown woman helped him pull Davis and Williams further away from the wreckage. He said she identified herself as a Perdue employee. He doesn’t remember her name.

Bruce Williams, 58, of Georgetown, died in the Milan he was driving. Firefighters were able to reach him only after extinguishing the blaze.

Baynum, 32, is a western Sussex County native. Raised in Harrington, he currently lives in Ellendale.

“I’m a good old country boy,” he joked. “I love to help people. I always have. I’m just pretty much an average guy.”

Baynum said he knows there was nothing he could do for Bruce – when Baynum was pulling Beverly from the car, her husband was already engulfed – but that doesn’t stop him from wishing he could have helped.

“I’ve lost two family members in my lifetime. I know how that feels,” he said. “I can only imagine how that feels to lose somebody that much closer to you.”

He said tries not to think about the harrowing rescue, but he prays for Davis and Williams every day.

Officials said Carmean was admitted to Milford Memorial Hospital with a broken back and lacerated liver.

Hospital officials declined to comment on her status.

Her 4-year-old son was flown to A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, where he was admitted with a head injury and wounds to his left arm.

Her 8-month-old son was treated for minor cuts and contusions at Milford Memorial Hospital and released.

Davis was flown to Baltimore Shock Trauma where he was admitted in critical condition with a closed-head injury. He was transferred to Milford Memorial Hospital for rehabilitation. He is currently listed in stable condition.

Beverly was flown to Christiana Hospital and admitted in critical condition with severe internal injuries. She was transferred to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Chester, Pa., Aug. 30 for burn treatment. Crozer officials said she is still in critical condition.

State police officials said all vehicle occupants were wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident, and the baby was properly restrained in a child seat.