71-year-old Wayne Cherry, the Salford, Pa. motorist who survived the one-car smashup, doesn't remember anything from the time he suddenly passed out to when he woke up in a hospital.
"Don't remember any fire, any collision with the car, or anything," he said.
Last Tuesday at around 11:00 a.m., Cherry was driving south to Virginia in his 10-year-old Subaru Legacy to visit his son when he lost consciousness, crossed into the northbound lanes, hit the fender of a second car, then struck a tree at the top of the embankment.
The crash caused Cherry to lose consciousness and he was trapped in a smoldering car.
"I can't believe that I actually made it through that car, the car is nothing, it's just totally gutted," Cherry said.
Up to 10 good Samaritans stopped to render assistance.
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Among them was off-duty Springfield Policeman Jeff Shull, who with his brother-in-law broke out the window and pulled Cherry to safety.
Back home with his family, with only a few bruises, Cherry spoke by speakerphone to Officer Shull.
"I really want to say thank you, not only for me, but my three children, my 13 grandchildren," Cherry said.
"You're quite welcome; it's amazing that nobody was hurt or [that there wasn't] a bigger accident," Shull said via phone.
Wayne Cherry is still undergoing medical tests, but so far his doctors cannot explain what happened to him. He hopes to be cleared to drive again soon.
Cherry is keeping his charred luggage as a reminder of the inferno and the folks who saved him.
"I was really lucky somebody was out there and had the presence of mind and the training to do something like that," Cherry said.
