A Harrow mother and daughter were among the first on scene of a horrific crash in Vancouver over the weekend that claimed the life of one person.
For Jacqueline Armstrong and her mother Lisa Fischer, it was a scene they never expected to be in the middle of when they came across a rollover car on fire, while on vacation.
“The front end of the car was on fire, so we knew we didn’t have a lot of time,” says Fischer. “The way it played out, getting victims out, treating the victims, the car exploding … it was very surreal.”
Fisher's husband and nephew were also on hand to help, along with two other people already on scene. The group ran down the eight foot rocky embankment to where the car was lying – finding a young boy banging on the window.
“I was like we got to get them out. We said smash the window.”
They used a rock to smash the glass and pull the boy to safety. A crow bar was then used to break another window. In total five people were pulled from the vehicle.
Once the final victim was pulled to the top of the embankment, the car exploded.
Both the women are nurses at Windsor Regional Hospital. The two tried to save the boys grandfather, but succumbed to his injuries.
“We get critical patients into the ER, but you are prepared for it. You have your equipment, your supplies,” Armstrong. “We had to figure it out on the side of a highway and had to make do with what we had.”
The surviving passengers were all taken to hospital with a wide range of injuries and the young boy was airlifted to a British Columbia children's hospital
Police tell CTV News they believe the death toll would have included all five people in the car if not for the good samaritans
