Teen helps rescue man trapped in a truck after a crash

Teens help man after crash

A DeKalb County junior helped to save the life of a man who was involved in a crash.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga - A 17-year-old helped rescue a man who was trapped in his truck on Tuesday evening.

Daniel Rodriguez, a Lakeside High School junior was driving with a friend on Lavista Road, heading to a soccer game when they saw a truck lose control and crash into a ditch.

They turned around, parked, and Daniel ran across the street to go help.

"You can already hear the guy moan like he couldn't breathe properly."

He said he found an older man inside the crashed truck. He quickly learned the door was jammed.

"He's like, 'Help me, help me!' And I was like, ‘It's OK, sir, I'm going to help you,'" he said.

The teens were driving on Lavista Road in DeKalb County when they saw a truck lose control and crash into a ditch.

"I was trying and I was trying and my only idea was, ‘OK, I'm going to go to the other door.’ And I was like, ‘This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to put my hand under your arm and I'm going to lift you.’ I had to pick him up because he couldn't really walk. And blood was dripping all over my face," the teen said.

Daniel's friend had already dialed 911 by the time Daniel was able to get the man out of the car.

The two teens stuck around until police arrived, and then went to the soccer game.

Daniel said this was the first time he's been faced with this kind of pressure and was surprised to learn he knew exactly what to do.

"I was kind of scared for me, but I didn't let it freeze me up for a long time because we don't have a lot of time in a situation like that," he said.

He said it was purely happenstance they were even on Lavista Road that night.

"We weren't supposed to be on that road for the soccer game. We were going to be on the highway."

Daniel said he hopes others do what he did and take the time to stop and help if they come across a similar situation.

"I know people handle situations differently, but I feel like it doesn't take more than one minute to go check if someone's OK. Even if they're OK, you can just go back in your car but you never know if that person can't get out of the car, like what happened that night," he said.

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