Everyday heroes Young men recognized for freeway rescu

GRATEFUL-Accident victim Eric Reuel, 21, speaks at a news conference about the night he almost died on the 101 Freeway. Behind him, Carl Brocket, one of four local men who helped rescue Reuel from his burning car, was part of a group that was honored last week by the California Highway Patrol for their heroic actions on the night of Jan. 18. With a grateful handshake and an expression of thanks, 21year-old Eric Reuel met three of the four young men who helped save his life.

"If they hadn't been there that night, I wouldn't be here today," Reuel said.

The emotional reunion was overdue for Agoura Hills residents Carl Brocket, 18, Damon Michaels, 19, and Ivan Robles, 21, who were honored last week by the California Highway Patrol for their heroic behavior on Jan. 18, when they helped rescue Reuel from his burning car on the 101 Freeway.

The CHP also recognized Westlake Village native Brandon Sprout, the fourth member of the rescue party, but Sprout was unable to attend the ceremony because he now lives in Colorado.

West Valley Cmdr. Steve Badilla, who presented the commendations to Brocket on behalf of Michaels, Robles and Sprout, said at the news conference that there's no question the friends' actions helped prevent another tragic freeway fatality.

"I have no doubt in my mind that what these boys did that night was save a life," Badilla said. "No matter what they'll tell you, they are heroes."

At about 2 a.m. on Jan. 18, Reuel was driving his 2004 Lexus on the northbound 101 near White Oak Avenue, when, according to his own account, he became very sleepy. Dozing off just long enough for his car to drift into another lane, Reuel hit an 18-wheel tractortrailer. The collision sent his vehicle slamming into the center median where it burst into flames.

The crash was witnessed by Michaels, who was driving the Lincoln Navigator carrying Brocket, Robles and Sprout.

Michaels immediately pulled the vehicle to the roadside and Brocket, a licensed EMT who has aspirations to join the Marines, jumped into action. He led his friends across four lanes of oncoming traffic and toward the flaming wreckage.

The doors of Reuel's Lexus were wedged shut, so Brocket tried to shatter the window of the burning car with his foot. After that failed, the other three men brought him an object that he used to break the driver's side window.

Reuel, a retail clerk at Crate & Barrel in Woodland Hills, said his first memory from that night was of waking up to the sound of Brocket pounding on his window and seeing that his car was filled with thick, black smoke.

Reuel was trapped in his wrecked car with no apparent way out.

"I couldn't breathe, and I tried to open my door but it wouldn't open," Reuel said. "It was so hot and I could see the flames. . . . at that point, I basically said to myself, 'Okay, I'm going to burn to death.'"

Then Brocket's final swing broke the window beside Reuel. The friends then helped Reuel pull himself through the opening. Moments later, the car was completely engulfed in flames.

"It was literally within seconds," said Reuel, who emphasized the importance of the fastthinking actions of the four at the press conference.

"I was completely knocked out. I know I wouldn't have woken up if I hadn't heard them pounding on my window," Reuel said.

Reuel was taken to the hospital where he was treated for a broken jaw and cuts and bruises.

Because they left the scene before the CHP arrived, neither Reuel nor anyone in law enforcement were able to say "thank you" to the four. But last Monday, at the CHP's West Valley Station, Reuel got that opportunity.

"What can I really say to them, other than 'Thank you, thank you so much,'" he said.

The night's heroism would probably have gone unrecognized if not for Michaels' father, Chris, who placed a call to The Acorn to tell the story his son had shared with him the night before. That story, first published Feb. 16, caught the attention of the CHP.

The highway patrol quickly followed up and decided to honor the four.

"If not for that story, this likely would have never come to our attention because they left before CHP arrived on scene," Badilla said. "And we're so glad that it did, because we want to recognize people who are looking out for other members of the community, who are helping us do our jobs. It is so heartening to see a citizen who is willing to lend a helping hand."

Even after receiving the honor -and a job application-from the CHP, Brocket is still not convinced what he did that night was anything other than an act of basic human instinct.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people who would have done the same thing in my position," Brocket said.