A local business owner’s heroic efforts at the scene of a fiery collision on Highway 63 have been recognized with a prestigious honour.
Dion Lefebvre found out this week he’s been awarded a medal and $5,000 from the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund for pulling a child from a burning vehicle after a head-on collision in April 2012.
He wouldn’t describe his efforts as heroic, necessarily, but it didn’t come as a shock that somebody would nominate him.
“It took a while to comprehend what had happened,” he said.
“I’m not surprised, because looking back it was a pretty unbelievable, gruesome scene.”
For his part, he just reacted.
Lefebvre was driving one of his work vans — he’s the owner/operator of Westlock Movers — up to Fort McMurray when the truck in front of him crashed head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction.
He described his memories of the event as being in slow-motion.
The adrenaline kicked in and it felt like the world slowed down around him.
He knew there were survivors when he heard the cries of a child coming from the wreckage.
“You realize the danger, but at the same time it’s insignificant. I don’t know if words can describe it, but to hear Timothy crying, that just gives you super-human ability,” he said.
“That was one time in my life where I experienced it, where I could do amazing things. I could run faster than I’ve ever been able to run; I could do things I couldn’t typically do. All my focus was in the moment.”
Of the nine people involved in the crash, just three survived. Lefebvre said he was well-aware the people who respond to this kind of tragedy can suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but he took the event and tried to make a positive out of it by helping to lobby for Highway 63 to be twinned.
“Luckily my decision to get involved and make difference, and to see some positive come from the tragedy, that’s what my focus is on,” he said.
As for the progress on the highway so far, Lefebvre isn’t exactly thrilled with either the pace of construction or who is bearing the cost.
“Am I happy with things? No. I think that Big Oil should pay for that, and it should be paved in gold for the amount of money that leaves our country,” he said. “It is frustrating, because that highway is used by industry and it’s used to haul heavy loads and massive amounts of workers, and the lion’s share of that money leaves our country. It makes the rich richer, and we’re left to clean up the mess.”
