DURHAM – Kevin Cassidy was being called a hero Wednesday, due to his quick action at a fiery two-car crash on Rabbit Road late Tuesday afternoon.
Fire officials say the volunteer firefighter/paramedic prevented a tragedy when he jumped from his car to pull a Falmouth couple from their vehicle just before it burst into flames.
“If he hadn’t pulled them out of their car, it would have been a very tragic outcome,” said Fire Chief Bill St. Michel, adding that Richard Wood and his wife, Robin, are “probably alive right now thanks to Cassidy’s quick action.”
Cassidy, who is a full-time firefighter in Freeport and a part-time volunteer firefighter for Durham Fire and Rescue, was on his way home when he came upon the crash.
Debris from the accident “was still spinning in the road,” and the Woods were trying to get out of their burning car “when I came upon the accident,” said Cassidy who also called emergency services. “By the time I got the second victim out of the car and away from it, the fire had spread, and both vehicles were on fire.”
The couple was admitted to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. Wood, 52, suffered a fractured ankle and chest injuries and his wife, also 52, a fractured femur and internal injuries, according to Trooper Keith Frank.
Cassidy’s prompt action put him on a pedestal in Wood’s eyes, as well.
“He thinks he’s a hero, too,” said a CMMC nurse caring for Richard Wood at the hospital’s intensive care unit Wednesday evening. Wood declined to take the phone himself.
The occupants of the second car, Kathleen Curtin, 50, of Durham and her daughters, ages 14 and 15, escaped apparent serious injury and were evaluated at Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick for evaluation, said Frank.
Wood, who moved to Durham a little over a year ago, has been a member of the town’s fire and rescue unit since last November.
State police are investigating the cause of the accident, noting it appears the Wood vehicle veered into the oncoming lane.
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