A drive along Interstate 5 near Fife turned dangerous when a woman behind the wheel of a white SUV suffered a medical emergency and lost control of the vehicle. With a young child strapped into the back seat, the situation could have ended in tragedy. Instead, a passing motorist decided to step in, using his own car to bring the runaway SUV safely to a stop.
Witnesses and video captured the SUV driving erratically, cutting across three lanes of traffic and bouncing off the concrete barrier. To the drivers around her, it was clear something was seriously wrong, and that whoever was at the wheel was no longer in control of the vehicle as it careened down the busy interstate.
Paul Jackson of Roy, in Pierce County, was one of those drivers. As he pulled closer, he could see the woman at the wheel was in the grip of a medical emergency, appearing to be barely conscious with her eyes rolled back. In the back seat, a frightened young boy sat strapped into a child seat, unable to do anything as the vehicle veered from side to side.
Jackson said the decision to act came almost without thinking. He described it as something he did not even really consider before moving in, feeling that somebody had to do something before the SUV caused a serious crash. With no time to wait for help to arrive, he maneuvered his own vehicle, a modest Kia Forte, into position alongside the SUV.
Working carefully to avoid making the situation worse, he positioned his back tire against the SUV, eased in front of it and gradually guided the vehicle to a stop. Video of the moment showed him squeezing the SUV to a halt, slowing it down bit by bit rather than forcing a sudden and potentially violent stop on the open roadway.
Once the SUV had come to rest, Jackson helped get the vehicle into park and worked to get the child out and to safety. He stayed with them until officers and paramedics arrived to take over, tending to the woman who had fallen ill behind the wheel and to the young boy who had been trapped in the back of the moving vehicle.
Although some have hailed him as the hero of Interstate 5, Jackson brushed the label aside, saying he simply happened to be in the right place at the right time. He noted that he had been on his way to pick up his wife's birthday cake when he came upon the scene, and afterward sent her photos of his dented car as proof of why he was running late.