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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
