The Garden City Telegram
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Neighbors: Teens, others help after accident
Published 7/27/2009 in Local News
By STEPHANIE FARLEY
Tommy Sanjuan, 19, Julio Gonzalez, 17, and Beto Medrano, 18, were just hanging out together on the evening of July 21.
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Stephanie Farley/Telegram — Tommy Sanjuan, left, Julio Gonzalez, right, and Beto Medrano, all of Deerfield, were part of a group of people who helped the night of a July 21 accident along U.S. Highway 50 in Deerfield. The three alerted law enforcement and helped remove Joseph Rodriguez, 66, from his car after the vehicle left the roadway and caught fire.
"We were leaving his house," Sanjuan said, motioning his head toward Medrano.
The three, who all live in Deerfield, were coming from visiting Medrano's sister, who recently had given birth.
The group was preparing to get into their vehicle when Sanjuan looked to his right and thought he saw a ditch on fire along U.S. Highway 50. Sanjuan suggested they drive by the ditch.
What the three found was more than they'd planned for on a summery Tuesday night.
The fire Sanjuan thought he saw was coming from a vehicle's lights illuminating smoke coming from the car's engine. The car was stuck in the ditch.
"We were a little shocked," Sanjuan said of coming upon the scene of a vehicle that had just run off the road and into the ditch.
What the three stumbled upon was a 1999 Buick Century that had been driven by Joseph Rodriguez, 66, off the roadway on U.S. Highway 50 in Deerfield. Rodriguez had been unable to escape the vehicle, which had caught fire.
According to Kearny County Sheriff James Jarboe, law enforcement who responded and passers-by, including the three boys, helped get Rodriguez from the vehicle.
Jarboe said the man suffered burns and was taken to St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City. He then was flown to Via Christi in Wichita. According to Via Christi, Rodriguez is in critical condition this morning.
When Sanjuan, Gonzalez and Medrano arrived at the scene, they said they started looking around to see if anyone was in the vehicle. At first, there was too much smoke and the three couldn't see anyone.
They eventually noticed a little movement in the vehicle, saying the man in the car moved forward.
Gonzalez was busy calling for help, and the boys said they yelled at Rodriguez, telling him the vehicle was on fire and to get out of the car.
Alvin Godley and his nephew, Jarvis Godley, also came across the scene and started helping, along with Sanjuan, Gonzalez and Medrano, to get Rodriguez out of the vehicle.
Alvin Godley said he and his nephew were headed to Lakin after getting off that night from Tyson. While passing through Deerfield, the two looked to their right, through the passenger side window -- Alvin said he thought someone had started a fire in the ditch. Jarvis told him a vehicle rather than the ditch was on fire.
The pair made a U-turn, returning to the scene of the fire.
Godley said they banged on the window, trying to get the attention of the man in the vehicle. By that time, Godley said, the car was filling up with smoke.
Unable to get into the vehicle, Godley went to find something to help break one of the car's windows or to help enter the car. He was unable to find an object to help, so he started kicking at one of the vehicle's windows.
The car continued to fill with smoke as they tried to reach Rodriguez. When law enforcement arrived, Godley said everyone was ordered back from the vehicle for safety reasons. Law enforcement officers and Godley took a fire extinguisher, trying to help extinguish the fire. Godley said the extinguisher smothered the fire some but then the fire grew bigger and moved to another part of the vehicle.
Godley said the group got a break, with one of the car's windows breaking from the pressure and heat inside the vehicle.
Godley said they saw arms -- Rodriguez's arms -- flailing around. Godley and others went to pull Rodriguez from the car. After dragging him a distance from the car, Godley said they started caring for the man.
"You see it on TV," Godley said of accidents and rescues.
Godley said he was glad he, his nephew and others were around to help.
He said he could have been doing his normal speeding through Deerfield to get home. Instead, they looked right, saw a need and stopped to help.
For Medrano, Sanjuan and Gonzalez, the ordeal has left a lasting impression.
"We were all panicking," Medrano said of the accident because they had been unsuccessful in extracting Rodriguez from the car.
Medrano said he'd been afraid the car was going to explode.
Medrano said he feels good about having helped, but Gonzalez wishes they could've found the man sooner and pulled him from the vehicle.
Gonzalez will be a senior this year at Deerfield High School.
Medrano and Sanjuan will attend Garden City Community College to study welding.
That night, Medrano said it was hard to sleep. Gonzalez says he keeps thinking that if they and others had not come across the scene, Rodriguez might not have had a chance of surviving.
Gonzalez said law enforcement congratulated the individuals who helped, telling them they did the right thing in stopping.
Sitting between Medrano and Sanjuan, Gonzalez said, though, that if they ever come across another accident or someone needing help, they hope they'll respond and react more quickly.
Found 3 comment(s)!
RODRIGUEZ FIRE/ACCIDENT
Arms flailing about? So hot the windows imploded? Did you think how his family and friends would feel reading these details?
Posted by: CHERI GEHLE on 8/28/2009
Good Job! Beto. =D
Good Job! Beto.=D TeeHee
Posted by: Kaiitlyn//Hailey on 8/16/2009
And people say are youth are all bad!
I know the three young men from Deerfield and am very proud of the way they responded. This goes to show that not all teens are bad! I hear that all too often! If you see Beto, Tommy, or Julio, please stop and thank them. It would have easy for them to just drive on by and they stopped and did the right thing! Thanks guys! Thanks also to the other two men who stopped and offered their assistance. You are all heros in my book!
Posted by: Rose on 7/27/2009
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