PINE BLUFF, Ark. — The Pine Bluff Police Department went on a mass search on Monday to find the person responsible for helping save one of its own.
It all started when the department posted a thank you to the person who "stopped to help the officer and quite possibly saved his life." Pine Bluff police said the person left before anyone got his name and that they "owe him a debt of gratitude and a new fire extinguisher."
Through many eyewitnesses and comments surveyed on the THV11 Facebook page, we quickly revealed that Carl Smith's swift action and heroics saved a Pine Bluff police officer's life after he crashed into the back of a school bus.
Smith helped mediate the situation and said his "training kicked in," which allowed him to spring into action and rescue the officer.
According to a police report, a Pine Bluff School District bus was waiting at a stop light on Dollarway Road near Phyllis Street when a police vehicle slammed into it.
Shortly after the crash, witnesses said the bus and police vehicle burst into flames, and they saw a man helping put them out.
Smith said the car was so damaged that he struggled to get the officer out, especially since it was on fire. That's when he grabbed the fire extinguisher from the back of the school bus.
"He's on fire, so I run around the vehicle and try to get the driver's door open," Smith said. "It was humanly impossible... so I ran to the bus and got the fire extinguisher. I put the flames out and waited for emergency personnel to arrive."
As a retired teacher and coach, Smith said that his selfless actions came naturally. He doesn't see himself as a "hero," only someone who would do the same for him.
"He'll come and rescue me," Smith said. "If I call the police, they will come. They put their life on the line every day, so it was only right to save his life. It's what I wanted to do."
Smith had no other passengers on the bus during the accident, and the injured police officer is expected to make a full recovery.