BY JEFF B. FLINN Managing Editor
When Fair Oaks Ranch Police Sgt. Alex Willis arrived at the scene of the one-car accident, smoke was already coming from under the vehicle.
Upon approach, Wi l l i s determined the driver to be unconscious. The sergeant’s subsequent action – and those of two good Samaritans who stopped to help – saved the driver’s life.
“The actions of Sgt. Willis and (Glen) McKinney and (Bryan) Clingman were pivotal in the outcome of this event,” said Fair Oaks Ranch Police Chief Tim Moring.
“In risking their own health and well-being in entering a burning vehicle to rescue an unconscious driver,” he said, “the quick and decisive actions taken … were
directly responsible for the saving of a human life that otherwise would have been lost in a vehicle that became fully engulfed in flames in less than three minutes.”
Moring presented Sgt. Willis, Fair Oaks Ranch resident McKinney and Boerne resident Clingman with plaques and medallions during the December 21 Fair Oaks Ranch City Council meeting.
Willis received the Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department Life-Saving Award while McKinney and Clingman were presented with a certificate of appreciation for saving a human life.
Moring recounted for council members the accident and actions of his officer and the two civilians that evening.
Fair Oaks Ranch officers were dispatched at 7:51 p.m. on October 24 to the 300 block of Amman Road for a single-vehicle accident. The driver was reportedly trapped in the vehicle and non-responsive, as 9-1-1 callers described heavy smoke coming from the engine compartment.
“Upon arriving and with no hesitation,” Moring said, “Sgt. Willis moved quickly to the vehicle and determined the driver was unconscious and needed immediate extraction from the vehicle, now on fire (with flames) spreading to the passenger compartment.”
Willis entered the vehicle from the passenger side to remove the driver but was unsuccessful due to heavy smoke. On a second try, he was able to remove the driver’s seat belt and began to move him across the center console, but again had to retreat due to heavy smoke and heat.
It was at this point that McKinney and Clingman stopped, left their vehicles, and approached Willis and the burning vehicle.
“Entering the burning vehicle for a third time, Sgt. Willis joined McKinney and Clingman and were able to successfully remove the driver from the burning vehicle and relocate him to a safe location,” the chief said.
“After extracting the driver, the vehicle’s passenger compartment was fully engulfed in flames in less than 1 minute,” he added.
Witness accounts, direct testimony from the men involved, and video from patrol vehicles confirmed the accounts of the three life savers, Moring said.
The unnamed driver was taken to an area hospital and survived the ordeal.
“AFTER EXTRACTING THE DRIVER, THE
VEHICLE’S PASSENGER COMPARTMENT
WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FLAMES IN LESS
THAN 1 MINUTE.”
Tim Moring Fair Oaks Ranch Police Chief
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