Charges laid in fiery crash that injured six people, one critically: Windsor police

Two good Samaritans are being praised for rushing into a fiery crash to save those inside the cars. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru has more.

Six people are injured — including one in critical condition — after a fiery collision on Tecumseh Road East in Windsor, Ont., Saturday night that bystanders who pulled victims from the wreckage say looked “like a scene out of a movie.”

Police say a pickup truck driver travelling westbound allegedly struck a sedan near McDougall Street just after 8:30 p.m. Saturday before veering into eastbound traffic and colliding head-on with an SUV.

The pickup and SUV were both engulfed in flames.

The SUV’s driver is in hospital with life-threatening injuries. Four other occupants suffered serious injuries.

The occupants of the SUV were identified as Shane Prutchick and Stefanie McDowell, as well as their three kids.

The driver of the pickup was also seriously injured. Police say he remains in medical care. Austin James Richard,34, has been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and leaving the scene of an accident.

Nico Verrelli had just parked his Jeep outside a convenience store across the street. Moments after closing his car door, the sound of a speeding engine shattered the silence.

“I was just hoping to go there, get a slushie — have a relaxing evening,” he said. “Then I hear a vehicle flying through the intersection. I heard a couple bangs. Across the gas pumps, I saw multiple vehicles on fire.”

Verrelli immediately phoned 911 before cutting the call short to sprint toward the scene, he said. Inside a silver SUV, he saw two unconscious people — a woman in the passenger seat and a man behind the wheel.

“It was terrifying — absolute pandemonium,” he said. “There were people screaming. The flames were over the entire front of the vehicle and going over top the windshield. It honestly felt like a scene out of a movie.”

He managed to pull the woman out through the passenger side, but the driver was pinned. Verrelli ran to the driver’s side and yanked on the door.

“I’m pulling on the door, and I can’t get the door open,” he said. “I’m sitting here thinking, ‘Okay, this man is going to burn alive and die.’ It didn’t look good.”

Ali Abu Khazneh had just left home to buy food when the crash happened in front of him. He stopped his car in the middle of the road and ran toward the SUV.

“I hop out and I run to the first car I see,” he said. “The second I open the door and go inside, flames start shooting up. My hand burnt a little bit but it wasn’t too bad.”

Abu Khazneh entered through the front passenger side of the SUV as Verrelli climbed into the back seat. Together, they worked to unbuckle the driver, who was still unconscious.

“Ali and I were able to take his seatbelt off. He was pinned inside on the driver’s side with the way the damage was,” said Verrelli, adding the man’s legs were tangled beneath the dashboard.

“I was able to pull him and untangle his legs from under the steering wheel,” he said. “We were both able to get him out before the vehicle completely went into flames.”

According to Abu Khazneh, flames overtook the SUV “not even 30 seconds” after the driver was pulled out and placed on the ground nearby.

“His neck was pretty messed up. We didn’t want to hurt him, but because of the flames, we dragged him alongside the grass and put him further away until the ambulance came,” said Abu Khazneh.

‘Those guys are heros’

Robert Dupuis was heading west on Tecumseh Road when he heard the crash from inside his car.

“I heard it in the car, and I was like, what was that?” he said. “Then I’m looking ahead and I can see plumes of black smoke. Then, all of a sudden, the flames. They were just there instantly.”

He got out, pulled out his phone, and began streaming live on Facebook.

“If Nico and Ali weren’t pulling people out of those vehicles, those people would have burned to death inside those cars,” he said. “Those guys are heroes in my eyes. They went above and beyond.”

All three say the scene has stayed with them — and will.

“I can still taste the poisonous smoke,” said Verrelli, the morning after the collision. “I still taste it right now. What I saw Saturday night is going to be burned into my brain the rest of my life.”

“It’ll stay with me,” added Dupuis. “It’s definitely the worst accident I’ve ever seen, personally. I’ll never forget it.”

Officers said the driver of the sedan was assessed at the scene and did not require medical treatment.

The Windsor Police Traffic Reconstruction Unit closed off Tecumseh Road between McDougall and Goyeau for several hours, reopening it Sunday around 10:30 a.m.

The investigation remains ongoing.