A lineman working to restore power to Peace River Electric Cooperative customers in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Milton ended up helping save the lives of two people involved in a scary traffic accident Sunday.
Cameron Elias was pulling off Highway 17 in Wauchula when he noticed a car in the southbound lanes that appeared to have front-end damage from a collision. Scanning the area for a second vehicle, Elias spotted an overturned car in a ditch about 75 yards away. A small group of bystanders were already attempting to pull the occupants from the vehicle.
“Cameron jumped into action and swiftly parked his bucket truck in the grass median and made his way to the overturned vehicle on foot,” Peace River Electric wrote on Facebook. “Bystanders were attempting to break the windshield of the vehicle to retrieve the two occupants stuck inside.”
Elias attempted to use a nearby trailer hitch to puncture the windshield, but when that didn’t work, he kicked a small hole in the windshield with his work boots.
“Once he had the hole started, he used his work gloves to provide protection for his hands as he grabbed and yanked at the glass pieces to enlarge the hole enough to help remove the occupants.”
In the process of helping them escape the vehicle, Elias received a small laceration on his right forearm. Fortunately, when he is not working on power lines, he works as an EMT at home.
“So he made quick work of a bandage for his arm and refused further medical treatment,” the Peace River Electric Facebook post notes. “His first priority was making sure that the occupants of the vehicle were safe, by doing a quick assessment of the individuals after getting them removed from the vehicle.”
“Cameron should be commended for his quick response and awareness in helping our community not only by helping restore power to those impacted by Hurricane Milton, but going above and beyond in responding to this traffic accident as well,” the post concludes.
Thank you, Cameron!