A March 30 car crash in front of the NCG Cinemas at the intersection of Ga. highways 34 and 54 just west of Peachtree City resulted in a vehicle fire and a heroic — and successful — effort to remove two passengers from the burning car.
Ga. State Patrol Sgt. James Corbett said the March 30 accident occurred at approximately 7 p.m. at the traffic signal at Ga. highway 34 and 54 at the entrance to the NCG Cinemas area.
Corbett said the driver of a Porsche, a Sharpsburg resident, had been traveling eastbound on Hwy. 34 and was making a left turn to enter the theater parking lot as a Lexus SUV was traveling westbound on Hwy. 54. The driver of the eastbound vehicle did not yield and was struck by the SUV, Corbett said.
Coweta County Dep. Fire Chief Todd Moore said he received information that Sharpsburg resident Mike Burgess, who was at the scene, responded as a good Samaritan and removed the father from the Porsche.
Moore said Burgess attempted to remove the 18-year-old from the passenger side as smoke and flames began to engulf the car. The woman could not be removed from the passenger side due to the damage to the car sustained in the wreck, so Burgess went back to the drivers side and made three attempts to free the woman from the seatbelt before he finally succeeded and was able to remove her from the car, said Moore.
“With a car full of smoke and flames, he put himself in peril,” Moore said of the actions by Burgess, noting that others might have been involved in the rescue. “If he had not, (the 18-year-old) might not have survived.”
Moore said the driver of the Porsche sustained serious injuries and was flown to Atlanta Medical Center and his 18-year-old daughter was transported to Grady Hospital in Atlanta.
There were no apparent injuries to the driver and passenger of the SUV, both Tyrone residents, said Corbett.
