'He ran and saved her': 70-year-old military veteran awake, remembers rescuing two from Pigtown explosion
BALTIMORE - Terry Bagley, a U.S. Marine veteran, is being hailed as a hero.
Last week, he risked his life rescuing a woman and her daughter from the aftermath of an explosion in Baltimore's Pigtown neighborhood.
Bagley is awake, but remains in the hospital, more than a week after the Nov. 22 explosion and fire.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren spoke with his daughter, Eris Bagley, who said all her father wants is a soda.
"My dad is currently awake. He is talking," Eris Bagley said. "He really just wants a soda. That's all he's talking about, getting a soda and coming home."
Terry Bagley remembers saving a 48-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl from a burning home.
His family said he was walking by the home when there was a boom, and then his military instincts took over.
"We're just thankful by the Lord's grace that my father survived," Eris Bagley said.
Eris Bagley says her father Terry Bagley is now able to speak, however, he suffered a brain injury.
He has already undergone three surgeries and will likely be sent to a rehab center to learn to walk again.
An online fundraiser remains active. It has raised almost $40,000 to cover Bagley's medical expenses.
"He does remember," Eris Bagley said. "He remembers that he saved the two women's lives, so he does remember that. But my dad is suffering from a brain injury as well, in his frontal lobe, so his short-term memory is not as accurate as it should be."
Eris Bagley told WJZ that her father remembers things falling on him and hearing a girl scream,
"He ran and saved her," Eris Bagley said. "Then she said something about my mother. My dad ran in and said, the next thing he realized, everything was falling on him."
The 70-year-old military veteran has been called a hero by many, including Governor Larry Hogan, his daughter and his son.
"I do appreciate him calling my father that and I do appreciate all the love that my father is receiving in my family and all the prayers because I do believe that, with the prayers, my father survived, because everyone was praying for my dad, continuing to pray for my family," Eris Bagley said.
The 16-year-old who Bagley saved was severely injured. She's now home but her mother remains hospitalized.
For the first time, the teen's father is speaking out.
He told WJZ over the phone that both face a long recovery.
His daughter suffered severe injuries to her hands and will need physical therapy.
He also called Bagley a hero and said he looks forward to meeting him and thanking him in person.
"He reached out to me and let me know that they're doing OK," Eris Bagley said. "And he's appreciative of what my father did. I am praying for them to have a speedy recovery, and that maybe all of the victims can meet up and just go out to eat."
People who live in the area told WJZ construction crews have been working on gas lines for about a month. They said they smelled gas leading up to the explosion.
BGE, and its private contractors, confirmed they had been working on fixing and upgrading a gas main in the same area as the explosion.
The site of the explosion is fenced off and has now been cleared of debris. BGE crews were still working there on Thursday.
The neighborhood also remains on edge.
The Southwest Baltimore Charter School, which is just two blocks away, was evacuated shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday because of a gas odor, according to a representative of Baltimore City schools.
The students were allowed back inside their classrooms about an hour after BGE and Baltimore fire made sure it was safe. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation
