PTC resident honored by GSP for saving three kids from burning car on interstate

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Kevin Snyder still remembers the fear that rippled through his mind while he rescued three children from a burning car on the interstate earlier this year. "I was never afraid for myself. I was just terrified I was going to fail," Snyder said. "I was just in sheer terror for those kids."

The Peachtree City resident was honored by the Georgia State Patrol last week with the Citizen's Valor Award in recognition of his bravery.

After watching the car burst into flames on I-85 near Union City, Snyder pulled off the road and sprinted toward the vehicle. With fire burning heavily on the driver's side, Snyder struggled to break a window on the passenger side, gaining access to three children in the back seat of the Honda Accord.

The first victim he reached, a young boy, was trapped behind the crumpled front passenger's seat. It took a while to free him, but the young girl in the middle came out quickly after he was freed.

The third child, a baby girl, was trapped in an older-model car seat. To free the infant, it required releasing the seat belt, and Snyder had difficulty reaching it.

The flames were growing hotter by this point; the toxic fumes were nearly unbearable, he recalled. As Snyder felt around for the release mechanism to the seat belt, he started to lose hope.

"I said, 'God, please help me,'" he remembered. "I couldn't see any more because the smoke was so intense. Moments later, Snyder's prayer was answered. He found the seat belt release, activated it and pulled the baby car seat and all out of the inferno.

Snyder recalled collapsing almost immediately after exiting the vehicle. Later, witnesses told him the passenger cab was engulfed in flames about 15 seconds after he rescued the baby girl.

After being treated with oxygen, Snyder turned down a trip to the hospital and headed home. He had already called his wife, Sonya, saying he would be late after witnessing the accident. "I just wanted to hold my kids," Snyder said of Sarah, 4, and Sam, 8 months.

It wasn't until he got home that Snyder noticed his nylon socks had melted to his skin. The soles of his shoes had melted as the fuel-fed flames shot underneath the car, nipping at his feet. His knuckles were skinned up pretty bad.

"I'll never forget the smell of those toxic fumes," Snyder said, adding that he "coughed up black stuff for two days."

While Snyder has shunned the "hero" label, he admits feeling a sense of accomplishment for stepping in when others might have waited for the fire engines to arrive.

"It was divine intervention," insisted Snyder, whose family attends Peachtree City United Methodist Church. "It really wasn't me."

Snyder said the incident showed him how firefighters risk their lives every day.

The weekend after the accident, Snyder purchased a medium-size fire extinguisher for the family car. He has since urged friends and family to do the same.

It's also important to have something on hand to break out car windows in case of an emergency, Snyder noted. He "bounced off" the window when trying to kick it in; eventually a hard object was used to shatter the glass.

Snyder hasn't spoken with the Alabama family he rescued from the fire, and he has heard they have shunned press inquiries about the incident. But to him, none of that matters. "I'm just glad those kids are okay," Snyder said.

Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page