Driver Sacrifices His Life To Drive Truck In Flames Away Before It Explodes, Saving Others

Apr 10, 2019 by apost team

A truck driver in Arkansas is being hailed as a hero after giving his life to save others.

63-year-old Randall McDougal was on a routine haul from El Dorado to Texarkana when he noticed that his brakes were on fire while driving on U.S. Highway 278 near Camden.

The flames worried McDougal immensely as he was carrying a load of ammonium nitrate, a highly combustible compound.

According to Marc Lallanilla from Live Science: Most often used in fertilizer, ammonium nitrate will explode if brought into contact with fire.

Worried about the lives that would be lost if the ammonium nitrate caught on fire, McDougal contacted police and emergency workers as he parked his truck on a lightly traveled road by Arkansas Highway 57.

Instead of fleeing the burning truck, McDougal began warning residents and other drivers of the imminent danger.

As local firefighters arrived at the scene and began helping residents evacuate, McDougal ran back to the truck, intent on putting out the fire himself.

Tragically, the truck exploded just as McDougal approached it, killing him in the blast. In describing the extent of the damage, Camden Fire Chief Robert Medford compared it to a bomb blast.

“It looks like a bomb went off,” he told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “There’s a big hole in the ground on where the truck was at.”

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Speaking with KATV, fire officials told of how debris from the explosion spread over an area of “several football fields.” Leveling trees in its wake, the ground around the truck was scarred by a crater 15-feet wide.

Three firefighters also sustained minor injuries when their windshield was shattered in the pandemonium. Reports indicate that the explosion was heard as far away as El Dorado, nearly 22 miles from the scene.

Officials were later able to recover McDougal’s remains, which were scattered over a wide section of the blast area. Tributes soon came flooding in when news of McDougal’s sacrifice was reported by the media.

Tim Griffin, the state’s lieutenant governor, said that McDougal would be in his thoughts and prayers. McDougal’s son Jason hailed his father as a hero.

Jason told reporters that he had heard the explosion that day and instantly called to check on his father. Grief-stricken, the younger McDougal said that his father was his hero and his role model. While devastated, Jason says that his family takes solace in all the lives that McDougal saved with his selfless actions.

"He was my world and my hero. The man I idolized and wanted to be like since I was born is not in my life anymore.” He told KATV.

Social media users have also voiced their admiration for the man on KATV's post. One user commented:

“Most would have run–that man IS a hero, and I cried reading the reporting that day. He did everything he could to get people away and tried to put the fire out himself,” 

What do you think of Randall McDougal’s selfless actions in dealing with the truck fire? Do you know of anyone who has done something equally as selfless? Let us know in the comments - and make sure to pass this along to your friends and family!