Usually, when people witness another vehicle swerving all over the road, their first instinct is to call the cops. However, one pickup truck driver in Illinois, Randy Thompkins, is clearly not most people, and thank goodness for that.
A dashcam of a parked cop car caught footage of what seemed to be a runaway vehicle swerving all over the road at a busy intersection. Before the cops had time to react, the cam picked up on something else: the driver of a pickup stopping his vehicle, jumping out of said vehicle and jumping into the moving car. Shortly afterward, the runaway vehicle slowed and came to a complete stop. The cop’s dash cam caught it all.
According to sources, the driver of the runaway vehicle, a young man, was having a seizure while driving. He lost control of the car and, had it not been for Thompkins, would have crashed and either been severely injured or even killed. In addition to saving the driver of the drifting car, the man also saved countless other people from being involved in a multiple-car pile up at the intersection.
Randy’s actions go to show that being an idle bystander is hardly ever the best thing to do. If you can, summon your courage and lend a helping hand. You never know whose life you’re going to change, or save, by doing so.
Thompkins deserves a medal, hands down, as I don’t know of many other people that would have been brave enough to dive into a moving vehicle. Moreover, I know that if it was me who had witnessed the runaway rig, I would have assumed that the driver was drunk or impaired and called the cops, which would have been pointless. By the time the authorities arrived, there is no doubt that significant damage would already have been done. (In this case, the cops were already on the scene, so that’s a moot point.)
Randy says that he wasn’t even thinking when he jumped into the vehicle, he was just reacting to what was in front of him. Well, that reaction helped to save a life.
“I didn’t do anything special, I don’t think,” Randy tells reporters. “I did what anyone else would have done.”
Clearly, Thompkins has a lot of faith in humanity, because I don’t know many other people who would have done that.
Even without training, Thompkins was familiar with what to do after diving headfirst into the vehicle. “First thing I did was to put two fingers in his mouth and tilt his head to the side to make sure he was alright. And then I stopped the car.”
Later on Facebook, Thompson wrote:
“Wow I just saved this guy’s life in the blue car i jumped in his car he was having a seizure at the wheel the cops said they saw me jump in his window like dukes of Hazzard it was crazy I saw him coming at me so I backed up real fast to the side and jumped out and jumped in his car to stop it wow my adrenaline is still going.”
Officer Lincoln Sharpe, the officer whose dashcam it was, says he shared the video because he believes that Thompkins deserves to be recognized. “It’s a spotlight on humanity, and on Dixon as well.”
According to Sharp, he and his partner saw the car run a red light and proceed through the intersection. It veered into oncoming traffic and almost ran head-on into Thompkin’s truck. Thompkins stopped, backed up and then proceeded to jump out of his truck and into the moving car. Sharp says that they were unable to see inside the moving car from where they were at and so did not notice the driver siezing. If they had, they would have reacted differently. Thankfully, however, Thompkins did see what was happening and stepped up.
Thompkins is being hailed as a hero by Dixon police force, but he says he doesn’t consider himself that. His wife doesn’t seem too surprised by Randy’s actions, telling reporters, “It’s just Randy being Randy, saving the day.”
Well, that’s the type of person we all need in our lives.
Check out this footage of this incredibly heroic act, then share with the hero in your life.
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