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| Raul Carrillo |
When my dad was teaching me how to drive at the age of 14,
he always preached to me to pay attention to my surroundings and have a plan in
case something goes wrong in front of me.
My name is Raul Carrillo and for the last 25 years, I have
served as a Kansas State Trooper. On the morning of February 21, 2018, I found
myself following his valuable advice as I not only saved my own life, but I
also saved the life of someone else.
I was patrolling northbound on I-35 near El Dorado in
Butler County when I witnessed a southbound 2017 Kenworth, hauling 7,500
gallons of diesel fuel, lose control. As it slid sideways into the concrete
barrier wall hard enough to break through, I swerved right onto the outside
shoulder to avoid a head on collision.
Both the power unit and trailer overturned, and the power
unit burst into flames. The Kenworth and trailer continued rolling over while
sliding down the barrier. It finally came to rest on the driver’s side with the
power unit resting on the wall and the trailer blocking both northbound lanes.
As I ran back to help the trapped driver and saw the cab on
fire with the tanker on its side spilling diesel fuel, I knew it was a
situation that at any moment could go from bad to worse. There were so many
things going through my mind. Is this thing going to explode? Am I going to
catch fire when I get to it? But the last thing I wanted was for someone to
perish in a fire like that. It felt like forever before I was able to get the
driver out.
Thankfully, not only did God put me in the right place at
the right time, but he also gave me the courage and strength to save the truck
driver’s life. The ‘what ifs’ still go through my mind. What if it didn't go
this way? What really touches my heart is my family. My wife, my daughter, my
son and of course, the truck driver himself.
I met the truck driver after he spent months in the
hospital, and he stopped by my office to say thank you. He was extremely grateful and told me I gave
him a second chance in life.
Technical Trooper Carrillo works for the Kansas Highway Patrol in south central Kansas
I wish all stories had endings like this one. Defensive driving skills are truly life-saving. KTA is proud to partner with Kansas Highway Patrol and KDOT on getting these impactful stories out.
ReplyDeleteWow! Your training really factored in. Not only did your situational awareness allow you to swerve and avoid being hit. But you also knew exactly how quickly you needed to act to save the truck driver's life. The truck driver is very lucky that you were right there when the incident occurred. Many are not so lucky. Thank you for saving his life and what you do every day to keep our roads safe!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story. Being in the right place at the right time is in a way part of your job duties. But one can only hope someone with the right skills making the right decisions is on the spot when confronted with such a situation. And certainly you were the right person! I can feel comfort on the highway knowing we have such dedicated professionals like yourself on patrol.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a powerful story. While I'm sure your training as a Kansas State Trooper helped keep your nerves under control, it still had to be an incredibly stressful and terrifying experience. We are ALL grateful that we have men and women on the Patrol who are dedicated to keeping us safe.
ReplyDelete