- April 23, 2024
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At first, Brice Wright didn’t notice the cuts on his hands. He didn’t notice the smell of burning rubber or feel the presence of bystanders gathering around him.
He was focused on one thing only — saving people’s lives.
“I had tunnel vision,” Wright said. “I was just thinking about them. I wasn’t worried about myself.”
On Tuesday, Aug. 15, Wright, a utility technician for the city of Palm Coast, was recognized by the City Council for his actions in saving the lives of two people trapped inside of a flipped truck.
Nearly 2 1/2 months ago, Wright was on his way back to work at the utility shop when he witnessed a collision at the intersection of Palm Coast Parkway and Pine Lakes Parkway. A black Ford Ranger ahead of Wright was making a left turn when an on-coming car ran a red light and smashed into the truck. Wright said the truck tumbled over four times before coming to rest on its hood.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I froze at first, and when I finally realized what just happened in front of me, I just sprang into action.”
Wright rushed to the driver’s side and attempted to open the door, but it was stuck. He resorted to using the full-sized axe he kept in his work truck to bust out the window. After dragging the driver to safety, Wright went back to rescue the person sitting in the passenger seat.
Wright said the passenger’s legs were pinned down, so he was unable to move him initially. However, Wright said five other men helped lift the truck up enough for Wright to pull the person out.
Smoke, sparks and oil were seeping from the truck the whole time, Wright said.
“That’s what really scared me,” he said. “I knew I had to do whatever I could to save these people’s lives, so that’s when I started working as fast as I could because I didn’t want anything to explode or catch on fire with someone still in the vehicle.”
Both the driver and the passenger have recovered from their injuries with no serious effects. And despite his actions, Wright said he doesn’t view himself as a hero. He just wishes someone would be willing to do the same thing for him.
“If it were me and my family or anybody else I was close to, I would pray that someone else would do the same thing,” the father of three said. “There’s too many people these days who just sit back and just watch things happen and don’t do something about it.”
