NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A WKRN News 2 crew was on Interstate 24 West in Cheatham County Thursday afternoon when they drove by a burning pickup truck surrounded by a crowd.
Upon investigation, the crew realized a father and son were inside the smashed, smoking truck.
It was stuck in a ditch on I-24 West near exit 31, the New Hope exit.
The 15-year old and his father were able to get out of the truck. Nearly 10 people pulled over to help with some crossing the busy interstate after seeing what happened.
The good Samaritans were on the phone with 911. “He has a head injury,” Kaitlin Holland, a driver, told the dispatcher.
“My sister actually passed from a car accident like this 5 years ago so it made me want to stop and be there like other people were there for my sister,” said Holland who is from Lebanon. Her sister was 20-year-old when she died, leaving behind her 8 month old baby who was not in the car at the time. Holland stayed to help and was comforting the teen. “I was just letting him know that everything will be ok and not to worry that help was on the phone,” she said.
Some people who stopped to help were nurses who realized fire and EMS weren’t there yet.
“I saw the truck hit the guardrail and flip down the embankment and we just pulled over and called 911,” said James Hite from Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He was on his way home driving right behind the truck when it lost control. “I figured we’re going to have to get some help here because somebody should have been hurt I thought they were hurt bad,” he said.
About 10 minutes later firefighters and paramedics made it to the scene. The dad had scrapes and bruises. “This one vomited. He said he hit his head,” a first responder said on scene.
The teen was taken to the hospital to get his head checked out and those kind strangers stuck around until then. “I wanted to make sure I stayed to make sure he was alright,” said Holland.
The teen’s mother showed up just as an ambulance was leaving. She thanked everyone who stayed for her son.
The driver of the truck told News 2 he bought it an hour before the crash and had steering problems.
News 2 requested the accident report from The Tennessee Highway Patrol but have not received it yet.