‘Heroic’: Bystander saves Bay Area man from engulfed car on Hwy 101
( KRON ) – On Sept. 12, East Bay resident Nichole Smith received a phone call informing her that her older brother, Zach Smith, had been involved in a "really serious car accident" on Highway 101.
Zach was airlifted to a regional burn center in Sacramento after his car exploded due to the crash's impact, his sister was told. He is currently in critical condition but is expected to survive due to what his sister dubs an act of "heroism."
Smith tells KRON4 if it weren't for a bystander who witnessed the crash, Zach "wouldn't have made it at all." According to Smith, a woman – who chose to remain anonymous – ran across four lanes of Hwy 101, and pulled Zach out of his fully engulfed car before emergency personnel arrived.
"Our whole family is so grateful to the really heroic bystander who pulled him out of the car... She put herself at risk by running down an embankment and seeing that even though the car had exploded, she was determined to help get him out of the car," Smith said.
The bystander, according to Smith, made sure to follow Zach to the hospital, checked in on his condition, and is still in communication with Zach's family. "She was incredibly brave, and we're so grateful to her... If it weren't for her, I don't think we would have had the chance to talk to him again," Smith added.
As of Saturday, Zach, a former Salesforce employee and Petaluma resident, is currently in critical condition at the ICU. More than 60% of his body was burned at the third degree, "and it would have been worse if not for the bystander who helped him," Smith said. "He has multiple fractures too in his back and his pelvis."
Zach, 35, is currently on a ventilator, so communication between him and his family is limited. Smith says he is expected to be at the ICU for "at least" four months.
"The best part of our day is definitely when we can tell that he can hear us. And there have been a few times where we're in the room with him, and he'll blink at us. Or, occasionally, his foot is the only part of his body that's not burned, so occasionally, he'll wiggle his foot to let us know that he hears us," Smith added.
Smith says Zach's parents and all his siblings have been visiting him at the ICU since the crash. Smith herself only returned home on Saturday after spending 11 days at the ICU with her older brother.
Due to the extensive costs of Zach's medical bills, Smith says her family's combined savings cannot afford his needed treatment.
"Zach was a Salesforce employee for over eight years, and last Christmas, we found out that he was impacted by mass layoffs," Smith said. "It's been really hard to watch him and so many other people go through mass tech layoffs, and right now, he's in a position where he could really use the financial support."
The Smith family says the bill estimates they've received will be "far beyond" what their savings can cover. "So we're looking for that help to be able to make sure he stays in the ICU where he belongs and keeps getting really great care and that money isn't the limitation between him and his recovery."
Smith has since created a GoFundMe for her older brother, who she says has "held [her] hand through all the major steps in [her] life." The page has a goal of $100,000. As of this report, the page has amassed $15,000.
"We know times are tough, and even if you can't donate, sharing this page would mean the world to us," the GoFundMe page said.
