A Clark County man is being hailed as a hero for his actions saving a family of four from a burning car in rural Kansas on Monday.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday that it had learned of the rescue from the Sheridan County, Kan., Sheriff’s Office and the identity of the man responsible, 29-year-old Yevgeniy Lomakin of Vancouver.
The sheriff’s office said that dispatchers in Sheridan County had received a report at 11:50 p.m. Monday of a motor vehicle fire on Highway U83, just north of Selden, a small community in the plains of northwest Kansas.
Lomakin was driving north when he spotted flames billowing from the undercarriage of a Pontiac Grand Am parked along the rural highway. He stopped when he saw no one around the vehicle, and when he looked into the car, he saw an adult and three children — ages 3, 6 and 10 — asleep inside.
The driver of the Pontiac, Shannon Harris of Colby, Kan., told investigators later that she had pulled over because they were tired. She and the kids were asleep in the vehicle when the fire began, according to the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office.
Lomakin “started pounding on the windows to wake the four people inside. Lomakin woke Harris and then safely removed two of the three children from the vehicle. Both Harris and the oldest child safely removed themselves from the vehicle,” authorities said.
They all took shelter in Lomakin’s pickup truck parked a safe distance from the fire across the road before calling 911.
Responding firefighters found the car fully engulfed in flames, and paramedics checked out everyone a short time later. No one suffered any injuries.
The cause of the fire is unknown, deputies said.
“It is Good Samaritans like Lomakin that deserve to be recognized for his quick thinking, actions and heroism,” said Sheridan County Sheriff Brandon Carver.
After saving the family, Lomakin gave a cash donation to Harris, stating, “I want you to have this for Christmas,” according to authorities.
Lomakin then got back into his pickup and continued down the road.
