A South Australian truckie has been hailed a hero after risking his life to save a 70-year-old woman from her burning car.
Michael Sleep, who works for Paris Creek Farms in Meadows, was travelling down the Princes Highway between Tantanoola and Millicent when he came upon the scene of a fiery head-on crash between two cars.
Without stopping to worry about his own safety, he pulled over and ran to help Cleone Bryant, who was trapped inside her car as it began to be engulfed in flames.
“There were flames coming out of the engine bay,” he told Channel 9 News.
“I had no second thoughts, just instinct.
“I think if I was even 30 seconds later, it might have been a much different story.”
Once Bryant was safely out of her car, Sleep went to help the female driver of the other vehicle.
Bryant is now recovering in hospital with broken ribs and a cracked sternum, with her family hoping to meet the man who saved her.
Bryant’s son James took to Facebook to thank Sleep publicly, writing: “You are literally a hero to us all.”