SLIDELL, La. — The mother of a student driver who was hit by a suspected impaired driver is trying to find all of the heroes who helped save her daughter from the burning car.
The frightening crash happened Thursday in Slidell. A suspected impaired driver was speeding and hit the student driver head on, according to police.
Mechanic Rory Gremillion was outside his shop when he saw the moments following the wreck. He watched the car catch fire.
"I ran and got the fire extinguisher and ran to extinguish the fire," he said.
He wasn't the only one who ran towards the flaming car.
"If they were getting burned or whatever, they didn't care," he said about the strangers who jumped in to help.
"From the people I spoke to, it was a slew of people who jumped out of their cars, jumped in the vehicle even while it was on fire, trying to get her out get the instructor out," said Allison LeFrere, mother of 17-year-old student driver Moriah LeFrere.
Moriah LeFrere has a long road of recovery, but her mother is thankful for the strangers who stepped in to help get her out of the burning car. With a picture of two men carrying her daughter to safety, LeFrere posted on Facebook: "I'd love to know who these two heroes are so I can say thank you for getting Moriah to safety!!! If anyone can help me find them, I would greatly appreciate it!"
Since posting, she found one of those men. His name is Tracey Bailey. He's a 25-year-old baker at Copeland's in Slidell.
"I threw my doors open and ran over there. I had slippers on and they came off," Bailey recalled.
He ran to the car, opened the driver's door, and pulled LeFrere out of the burning car. With the help from a few more strangers, both she and her instructor were saved.
"I didn't think about it too much. It's just something you just see it and you know you have to help. You can't just leave somebody in there. I know if we were having trouble getting her out of that car while it was smoking up, she wasn't going to be able to breathe," Bailey said.
LeFrere called bailey to thank him.
"I'm just really thankful that I was there at the right time," Bailey said.
"I feel so blessed that there were so many people there to render aid and help them," LeFrere said.
"It was like instincts took over within every person that was out there," Gremillion said.
LeFrere is asking for help identifying the other man in the photo wearing the black shirt seen carrying her daughter to safety with Bailey.
Moriah LeFrere had surgery for her fractured jaw Tuesday. Her mother said the surgery went well, but she still has a long road to recovery. The instructor is also still in a hospital recovering.