Hero cop — on fire — races in and saves two children
By KIRBY ROSS
Phillips County Review
As this is being written, Phillips County Sheriff’s Deputy John Miner is being transported to Via Christi Burn Center in Wichita after he twice rushed into a burning vehicle, saving the lives of two children, ages 2 and 4, in the immediate aftermath of a fiery four-vehicle accident on highway Kansas 383, four miles northeast of Long Island.
Readers of the Phillips County Review will recall the paper ran a series of articles and editorials detailing the death-trap nature of that roadway.
The extremely dramatic events began around 5 p.m. Wednesday evening as a two-vehicle caravan filled with a total of at least seven occupants was moving from Wisconsin to Arizona, passing through northwest Phillips County.
When one of those vehicles broke down midway between Woodruff and Long Island, Deputy John Miner, a 15-year veteran of the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office, pulled in behind the vehicles to render roadside assistance, turning on his flashing lights in the process.
With shoulders on the highway being all but nonexistent and amplifying the dangers of a run-of-the-mill breakdown, the car hood was opened on the disabled car.
As work was proceeding on getting the vehicle started, a westbound 2016 Peterbilt driven by Jerry D. Richard, 59, Scott City, bore down on the unsuspecting group.
Richard afterward stated he was blinded by the setting sun and did not see the three vehicles in front of him.
Spotting them at the very last moment, Richard swerved sharply, but not soon enough to avoid slicing off the rear quarter of the Sheriff’s Department pickup.
With the fuel tank disintegrating and diesel spraying everything in a wide radius from the point of impact, all vehicles, including the semi, caught on fire.
Miraculously, no one was injured by the collision itself, with all persons standing along the roadside fleeing into an adjacent alfalfa field.
Deputy Miner, who had been in front of the disabled vehicle, instinctively hit is bodycam button almost simultaneously with the impact.
With flames clearly visible rising from the line of cars, two small children, a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy, remained strapped into their car seats inside one of the burning cars.
A 1-year-old baby was also with the group but was not in the vehicles.
Quickly taking in the chaotic scene, Deputy Miner immediately reacted, running from his point of safety in the hayfield and jerking the car door open.
Car seats can be difficult to maneuver a child out of under the best of circumstances — even more difficult in an escalating emergency.
In the bodycam footage, flames can be seen rising from Miner’s legs. Despite this, he can be seen taking his utility knife and cutting the straps to the first seat.
Grabbing the toddler, Miner then runs with it to a point of safety a short distance away in the field and lays her on the ground.
With flames continuing to rise from the lower part of his body, he then runs back to the flaming vehicle as individuals off-camera can be heard hollering to him that he’s on fire.
Regardless of the danger and ignoring his own peril, Miner returns to the vehicle and cuts the second child out of his seat and carries him to safety.
With the flames spreading on his own clothes, Miner then rolls desperately on the ground and successfully extinguishes the fire threatening to consume him.
Miner next attempts to radio for help, but can not make contact with dispatch due to the distance and geographic conditions of that part of the county.
Miner then successfully makes contact through his cellphone, and requests that “all EMS respond to the scene.”
As he is standing in the field, the body camera pans the apocalyptic scene and catches wreckage scattered up and down the highway, along with billowing black smoke coming from four vehicles, including the semi a half-mile further down the road.
And in that footage occurring in just the brief moments after the children had been taken to safety, the vehicle they had occupied can be seen totally engulfed in flames as explosions begin taking effect in different parts of it.
Wednesday night, Deputy Miner was transported to Phillips County Hospital, and was en route to Via Christi on Thursday morning.
Miner suffered third-degree burns on his legs. While the rescue was quite dramatic and could have been deadly, and Miner's painful injuries will leave behind a scarring reminder of what happened yesterday, they are not considered critical, and he should be making a full recovery.
Republished with permission
---------
PHILLIPS COUNTY —Three children were injured in a 4 vehicle accident just after 5p.m. Wednesday in Phillips County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Peterbilt semi driven by Jerry D Richard, 59, Scott City, was westbound on Kansas 383 six miles west of U.S. 183.
The semi struck the left rear of a 2016 Dodge Ram, a marked sheriff's department vehicle parked on the north edge of the highway facing west with emergency lights activated. Phillips County Sheriff's Deputy John Miner had stopped to assist a disabled motorist near West 800 Road.
The impact pushed the Dodge Ram sheriff's vehicle into the north ditch.
The semi then struck a trailer that was parked in front of the deputy's vehicle. The Peterbilt spilled fuel and caught fire as it continued westbound past a 1989 Dodge Ram and a 2015 Ram 1500 also parked on the north edge of the highway.
The 1989 Ram, the camper connected to it and the 2015 Ram also caught fire due to the amount of fuel spilled by the semi.
Three front seat occupants of Ram 1500 were safely able to exit the vehicle while sheriff's deputy Miner was able to safely remove 2 occupants from the back seat of Ram 1500 before they were injured by the fire.
EMS transported Ella Rae, 4; Emric Wilkens, 2 and Ryatt Wilkens, all from Wisconsin, to the Phillips County Hospital.
Deputy Miner suffered minor burns when he rescued the two children. He was transported to Phillips County Hospital and is being referred to another facility for treatment of his injuries, according to the Phillips County Sheriff's Office.
There were no others injured, according to the KHP.