Senior Master Sgt. Bruce Zimmerman, 911th Security Forces Squadron operations superintendent, stopped on his way into work to pull a man named John out of his vehicle stuck underneath a tractor-trailer Jan. 6. Eventually the car, which couldn't be shut off, caught fire. However, John was safe in Zimmerman's car with only minor injuries. (Courtesy photo)

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Pittsburgh Airman helps at car accident, prevents certain disaster

Published Jan. 6, 2015
By Jacob Morgan
911th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, Pa. -- Early in the morning before the sun rose Jan. 6, Senior Master Sgt. Bruce Zimmerman, 911th Security Forces Squadron operations superintendent, was driving to work for the early shift. The night before, several local news stations had predicted about three inches of snow. However, the snow fell so fast that the roads were anything but clear on Zimmerman's ride to work.

As Zimmerman heard later, a couple of miles in front of him, a tractor-trailer began to skid swiping from side to side on the road. With a car right to the tractor-trailer's side, the trailer tried to gain control as the car tried to brake. Both ended up sliding and unfortunately neither driver could gain control before the two vehicles collided.

With very few cars on the road, Zimmerman, the 26 year security force's veteran, initially saw a tractor-trailer on the side of the road. As he slowed down to pass, he saw a car tucked underneath the rear wheels of the tractor-trailer.

As he watched many other drivers continue to pass without a second thought, he jumped out of his car to see if everyone was alright, thinking it must be ok if everyone keeps passing.

"As I approached the car, I could see the driver of the tractor-trailer talking to a man inside the car," said Zimmerman. "The driver was stuck; part of his dash and steering wheel had been caved in on his legs. The driver was alert and conscious."

As Zimmerman and the driver of the tractor-trailer began to tear away the debris trapping the man, they noticed a gash on his leg, but nothing serious according to Zimmerman. Directly after pulling the man out of the car, all three men began to smell gasoline and noticed the car was still running.

Without being able to reach the ignition switch, Zimmerman and the driver of the car, who identified himself to Zimmerman as John, decided to get away from the car.

Approximately two minutes later, the car was fully engulfed in flames, stopping traffic on I-79, a major highway in Pittsburgh, for hours.

"We counted as the tires began to pop from the heat," said Zimmerman. "John was ok, he seemed a little in shock, but we had normal conversations... we even talked about the Steelers."

Emergency services were stuck behind the traffic on the road and didn't arrive for a few minutes. John and Zimmerman kept pressure on his leg wound until they arrived.

Zimmerman, who has received admiration from some and jabbing from others for 'being famous,' said, "I don't consider myself a hero, maybe a good-samaritan. Yea, I guess I am ok with that. I can't believe I was the only one who stopped. It was just the right thing to do."