LYNN — When Marcus Detamphayvanh witnessed a four-car crash that left one of the drivers motionless in her vehicle last Friday, he didn’t hesitate to intervene.
Detamphayvanh, 24, of Lynn, was driving along Eastern Avenue toward Salem shortly after 6 p.m. when he saw multiple cars collide at the intersection of Western Avenue as soon as the traffic lights turned green.
He instructed his girlfriend to drive by slowly and when he saw one of the drivers, a 73-year-old woman, was not moving, he told her to pull over so he could rush to the woman’s aid, while calling 911.
The woman’s car, which was sandwiched between two other vehicles, was badly damaged and smoke was showing, said Detamphayvanh. But initial attempts to get to the woman were unsuccessful, because the doors were locked and she was still not moving, he said.
It wasn’t until another person showed up with a metal object, which he used to smash open one of the car’s windows, that Detamphayvanh and the other Good Samaritan were able to thrust open the damaged door and make contact with the injured woman, he said.
“We were hesitant to move her because the car was smoking,” said Detamphayvanh, who pushed a button to turn off the engine. “I’ve seen a lot of accidents happen and me being in accidents as well, this woman wasn’t moving and her car was on fire or smoking. I couldn’t hesitate.
“You only see that once in your life and you have to be selfless. What ran through my mind was making sure she was OK.”
Initially, the woman did not respond when he asked her basic questions, such as whether she was OK, or if she knew where she was, but eventually she told him her name was Nancy. Days later, Detamphayvanh said the woman’s name is still firmly etched in his head.
Detamphayvanh stayed on scene until police, firefighters and other first responders arrived, holding the woman’s hand until police asked him and other witnesses to leave.
‘It made me realize life is short,” said Detamphayvanh. “She was the only one in the car and she needed someone there.”
Lynn Police Lt. Michael Kmiec said the woman was taken to Salem Hospital with injuries after the four-car crash that occurred after a car traveling southbound on Western Avenue struck another car. There were no other injuries reported, he said.
“A couple of them were traveling southbound on Western Avenue,” said Kmiec. “One stopped to turn onto Eastern Avenue and that caused a chain-reaction crash.”
Lynn Fire Chief Stephen Archer said responding firefighters did not have to extricate the woman from the car and were only on scene for about 20 minutes.
