Gainesville, Lake City residents to receive awards after burning car rescue

For helping save a motorist from a burning car Thursday, a Lake City man and a Gainesville man will each receive an award for his bravery.

At about 11 p.m. Thursday, Lance MacDonald, of Lake City, noticed a mangled car engulfed in flames in the 6300 block of NW 39th Ave. At the time, the 40-year-old was driving home from his son’s football game in Gainesville, MacDonald said.

The sports car had rolled over several times and hit a concrete pole, and its driver sat trapped inside.

MacDonald stopped on the side of the road and joined a group of bystanders gathering around the flaming car.

“There was no time to think,” he said. “It was very scary.”

After MacDonald managed to open the driver’s door and take off his seat belt, 34-year-old Kris Holt, of Gainesville, helped him pull the man to safety. By that time, the fire had spread to the man’s feet and legs, MacDonald said.

After they got the man out, the residents pulled him about 20 feet away from the car, and an Alachua County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene. After the man stopped breathing, the deputy performed CPR for several minutes until paramedics arrived, he said.

After the adrenaline had worn off following the rescue, MacDonald said he thought of his own son and the parents of the driver.

“I stayed up all night, and all I could think was the parents of the young man getting a knock or a call,” he said. “I’m glad that his parents still have their son here.”

The man suffered a brain injury during the crash but has been walking and talking since then, said Michael Cowart, the Gainesville Fire Rescue operations chief.

In January, both MacDonald and Holt will receive Life Safety awards from the sheriff’s office.

Asked about the recognition, MacDonald brushed off any praise, contending he was just in the right place at the right time.

“I don’t think I saved his life,” he said. “I don’t look at it that way. I’m just an average everyday guy that did what needed to be done.”