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Chesterfield man rescues driver from burning car near baseball field

The elderly driver was conscious but disoriented and was able to be pulled to safety.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — A man from Chesterfield is being hailed a hero after saving a man from a burning car.

On Saturday afternoon, Brian Kanavan said he was driving down Clarkson Road with his family when he noticed a car had plowed into the baseball field on Marquette High School’s campus.

“I was looking around, I noticed a lot of debris, dust and dirt and smoke in the air,” said Kanavan. That’s when he realized someone was inside the car. When he noticed the car was on fire, he immediately jumped in to help.

“The front of the car was wedged up right up against the fence. I’m assuming when he hit that, the hood kind of came back. I basically reached inside the door and I just proceeded to get him out of the vehicle,” said Kanavan.

Kanavan said the driver was an elderly man. He was conscious but disoriented. He was able to pull him out and get him away from the car.

Tire marks show the driver weaved through two electric polls, slammed into a fire hydrant, tore through a fence then kept speeding several yards down the hill. As of Monday the grass was still covered in tire marks and stained with oil and transmission fluid showing just how far he went. The car’s path narrowly missed the area where the high school and practices and just yards away from a power plant.

“This campus is loaded with children at that time of the day so you always think what if for sure and I’m glad we’re not having that conversation,”

Fortunately, the school hasn’t started yet the new year yet. As for the driver, Kanavan said he told paramedics he was diabetic and could have suffered a medical emergency.

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