A McComb woman is safe after a Monday night accident on Higgins Drive left her trapped inside her burning vehicle until a sheriff’s deputy came to her rescue.
Pike County Sheriff’s Lt. John Glapion said the call about the accident went out at 6:32.
“They called and said there was a black female trapped in the car,” he said. “I was in the area, so I responded to the call.”
He said he arrived on the scene at 6:34 and found a distressed Elshakethia White trapped in a gray Mercury Grand Marquis.
McComb Fire Department Capt. Warren Agnor said city and Summit firefighters also responded.
“Her legs were jammed underneath the dashboard, and the car was fully enflamed,” he said.
Glapion said he retrieved a fire extinguisher from his patrol car but it wasn’t much help.
“It didn’t put the fire out,” he said. “The fire just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
Glapion said Ron Gibson, a former city fireman, arrived and pulled White’s car door free.
“He tied a rope to the door and hooked it to his Suburban and just started pulling and when he was able to free the door, I just went and grabbed her,” he said.
Glapion said another person was in the car with White but the passenger, whose identity was not immediately available, was able get free.
“White was the only one trapped in the vehicle,” he said. “The other person met AAA (Ambulance) and they treated the passenger and transported the person to the hospital.”
Glapion said once he got White free, the entire car went up in flames.
“She’s lucky to be alive,” he said.
He said he didn’t consider his own safety.
“My first thought was, ‘We’ve got to get her out of this car,’ ” Glapion said. “I knew if we didn’t get her out, she may die, and I didn’t want to see anyone die.”
He said as a law enforcement officer, he’s seen traffic fatalities and he didn’t want to witness another and was determined to get White out alive.
“If she was alive, I was going to try to get her out,” he said.
Since Higgins Drive is the dividing line between the city limits and the county, McComb police took over the accident scene.
“Dispatch just said Higgins Road and that’s where I went,” Glapion said.
Glapion said he doesn’t consider himself a hero. He was just in the right place at the right time.
“I don’t think I did anything special. It’s my job, it’s what we do. I don’t feel like I did anything beyond the call of duty,” he said.
