College student saves driver from wrecked propane tanker

REELSBORO — A 24-year-old Pamlico Community College student on his way to class Monday morning was delayed to class after he stopped at the site of an overturned propane truck and pulled the driver to safety.

Christopher Mackey stopped his car, kicked out the windshield of the truck and pulled the driver to safety.

“He was a big man and he had cuts on his legs and was conscious and somewhat startled,” Mackey said.

Officials identified the driver of the propane tanker as James Simmons, 40, of New Bern. Simmons was treated and released from CarolinaEast Medical Center.

The N.C. Highway Patrol has not released the cause of the wreck.

The truck overturned around 9 a.m. near Wayne’s Mobile Home Park near Reelsboro.

After Mackey pulled the driver to safety, he turned off the propane leaking from the tank. The motor was still on, the tires were spinning, and the truck was in gear so Mackey reached in and turned off the ignition.

 “I didn’t think twice or second-guess myself,” Mackey said. “A lot flashed through my mind. I thought of the driver’s safety and then my family if the truck exploded but I knew what I had to do.”

The tanker from Eastern Propane in Bayboro overturned on N.C. 55 west, blocking the lanes of traffic. The highway was closed until 1:30 p.m.  and traffic was detoured. Pamlico County Emergency Management Director Dan Lamont said residents were evacuated for a quarter-mile in either direction.

The propane was transferred to another tanker.

Mackey is no stranger to rescue. He joined the Coast Guard after graduating from Pamlico County High School. He was stationed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Bear in Portsmouth, Va., then sent to Kodiak, Alaska, performing search and rescue. He was also a firefighter aboard ship.

Monday night he was sworn in the Little Swift Creek volunteer fire department in Craven County. He previously was a volunteer with the Florence volunteer fire department in Pamlico County.

He is studying criminal justice at Pamlico Community College and said he wants to be a police officer.