VA Police Officers Prevent Tragedy
VA Police officers (l-r) Major Calvin Rascoe, Officer Colt Clark, Officer Shawn Bethea, Officer Ronald Turner, and Officer Robert Evans rescued to ladies from a burning vehicle on the northbound I-77. (Photo by Bob Hall, Columbia VAHCS Public Affairs).
Two ladies are alive today thanks to the quick action of five police officers from the Columbia VA Health Care System.
On October 5, Columbia VA Police officers, Major Calvin Rascoe, Officer Colt Clark, Officer Ronald Turner, Officer Robert Evans and Officer Shawn Bethea were returning to the Columbia VA from training when Rascoe observed fire and smoke coming from a vehicle traveling north on Interstate-77. The driver and passenger were unaware of the fire coming from the undercarriage of their car.
Rascoe activated his vehicle’s blue lights and siren to get the driver’s attention to pull over. The police officers quickly jumped into action to save the two ladies in the car who were still unaware that their car was on fire. Clark and Turner led the ladies to a safe area away from the car while Turner called 911 to request fire and emergency rescue and Bethea took care of traffic control.
With the ladies safely rescued from the car, Rascoe and Evans attempted to put out the fire. Rascoe emptied a five-pound fire extinguisher on the engine and undercarriage and Evans emptied a second 2.5-pound extinguisher to battle the fire on the engine. With flames still blazing from the undercarriage, Rascoe grabbed a third fire extinguisher and finally extinguished the fire just as the Lexington Fire Department and local Emergency Management Service arrived on the scene.
The officers said they did not think about their own personal safety. “Our focus was to save the two ladies in that burning car,” Rascoe said. “I appreciate these guys 100 percent. They did an impeccable job. They reacted and did what they are trained to do to make sure people are safe. I believe if God had not placed us there at that particular moment, the outcome would have been tragic.”
David Omura, director and CEO of the Columbia VA Health Care System said, “I am always inspired by the heroic work completed by our great Police Service. I hope that if I am ever driving down the road, and I have an emergency, like my car being unexpectedly on fire, the VA Police are there to save the day.”
