CW5 Jim Lake Saves Child Trapped In Freeway Crash
Story by SGT Charles Ames - Posted Mar, 2002
Master Chief Warrant Officer Jim Lake is the Commander of Detachment 2, Company A, 249th Theater Airplane Company, and is a Sherpa pilot. Recently, he was on his way to Fort Lewis when he noticed smoke coming from a car ahead of him on I-5. As he neared the car it slowed and steered for the roadside. As he passed, he noticed flames coming out of the front of the car.
Chief Lake immediately pulled to the side of the road and back to the car. By the time he arrived it was engulfed in smoke and fire. As he ran up to the passenger side, he saw the driver - a young woman - setting a baby carrier off the side of the road behind the car and then turning back to the flaming vehicle.
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Chief Lake looked into the car through the side windows and at first could not see any other passengers through the thick black smoke. Then he noticed a small girl barely visible in the back seat of the car, securely belted into a carrier. He opened the door and began working to free the wide-eyed 2-year-old from her car seat, as the flames began to burn through the firewall. It took several attempts of struggling in the smoke with the safety straps, pulling his head out every so often for gulps of fresh air, before he was able to wrestle her free.
Finally he was able to pull the youngster to safety and he took the family to a safe distance on the roadway behind the burning automobile.
Chief Lake was about to call for help on his cell phone, but realized he had dropped it in the burning car, now engulfed in flames surging 25’ into the air. Luckily, by this time a few truck drivers had pulled over and were attempting to extinguish the flames with fire extinguishers, but the vehicle was now beyond salvage.
For his actions CW5 Lake was awarded the Guardsman Medal.
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