Source : ABC NEWS
A young Dutch racer is being hailed as a “superhero” after stopping on a race track to help pull a fellow competitor out of his flaming car.
The incident happened on Saturday in the China GT series in Shanghai, when 36-year-old British driver Ollie Millroy was part of a multi-car crash in his Ferrari.
The car was then engulfed in flames, and the situation was made more desperate by a lack of safety marshals in the area.
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Dutch competitor Loek Hartog, 23, stopped, ran over to the flaming car and tried to help Millroy out of the driver’s side door.
Unable to free Millroy, Hartog then grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and doused the flames enough so he could then pull his rival out of the other side of the car.
“I owe my life to you,” Millroy wrote on social media.
“Loek Hartog stopped instantly with no flag marshals or fire crews in sight, and risked his own life to get me out of the car. I don’t remember anything between 30 seconds before the crash and 1 hour after it, but I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life.
“One day I will tell our three kids this story and Loek will be the biggest superhero in history in their eyes too.”
Millroy said he broke five ribs, as well as his collarbone, hand, finger and sustained a bruised lung from the wreck.
Hartog wrote on social media that Millroy had nothing to thank him for, stating he wished anyone else in his position would have done the same thing.
“I wish to live in a world where this would not be considered as bravery but as instinct of others too,” Hartog wrote.
“I am so thankful to have been right at the place I needed to be in space and time.”
Chinese-owned news website Global Times reported that organisers of the China GT Championship will review “shortcomings” in the safety protocols of the series, among other areas of improvement.
“After the race, we will further review and investigate the accident and formulate more comprehensive plans to address shortcomings in competition organization, support, emergency response, rescue and medical services,” organisers said in a statement.
