RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — A man says he jumped into action after spotting a car on fire on the side of Interstate 5 near Ridgefield on Tuesday night.
Sadly, the victim didn't make it, and now that man says he is trying to help the victim's family.
Steven Gorbet was driving home from a hunting trip with his wife when he said they came across a fire on the side of the highway and another car parked along the shoulder.
"I was coming back from my hunting trip, and I see what looked like a brush fire on the side of the road, there was a car next to it so I figured I could give them a hand," Gorbet recalled. "I pulled over and realized when I got out of the car there was another vehicle, so I grabbed my fire extinguisher and tried to put out the engine fire. That lasted about 2 seconds, it did nothing."
Gorbet said he then heard people yelling that someone was in the car. So he said he smashed out a window and tried to get the victim out. But it only took a few seconds for the flames to take over the car.
"So I reach in there and try pulling him out, couldn't do it, and then pretty soon the flames got more intense and I hear people saying 'get out of there, get out of there,' and then tried getting out," Gorbet explained. "I was snagged by the ankle and eventually got out. Moments later, the whole vehicle exploded, went up in flames."
Washington State Patrol confirmed there was a two-vehicle crash, and one car went down an embankment and caught fire, leaving one person dead.
Gorbet posted about the traumatic experience on Facebook. Gorbet said a member of the victim's family saw the post and thanked him for his efforts. That's when Gorbet said he realized he knew the man he was trying to save. He said it was Fred Martian, a man he had worked with a few times.
"He was just a funny, grouchy old man. Grouchy in a way, he had a sense of humor, always cracking jokes," Gorbet remembered.
Gorbet and his wife set up a GoFundMe account to help the victim's family. If you'd like to help, click here.