Off-duty 911 dispatchers credited with saving 2 people from fiery wrong-way Parkway West crash

A man is in custody and another remains hospitalized after Pennsylvania State Police said a wrong-way driver crashed into two cars on the Parkway West in Robinson Township this weekend. 

Family of the man still in the hospital told KDKA-TV he has a long road to recovery, but he's alive, along with the suspect, thanks to about a dozen passerbys who decided to stop.

A typical day in the life of Brian Craig includes sitting at a desk and answering calls as a 911 operator and dispatcher for Allegheny County. However, after finishing the overnight shift Saturday around 6 a.m., his skills took him to the scene of two cars on fire on the Parkway West in Robinson.

"It was almost just a natural reaction," Craig said.

He stumbled upon the aftermath of a major crash on the eastbound side just before Exit 60A and immediately pulled over, along with the driver in another passing car.

They first went to a Jeep that was heavily involved, but the driver's door was locked, and they couldn't break the window.

"I then ran back to my truck, grabbed a tire iron and a claw hammer from my toolbox," Craig said.

While they smashed the window, they couldn't remove the seatbelt.

"In my mind, I figured we had about three to four minutes maybe, until that fire was impinging into the passenger compartment," Craig said.

Thankfully, a tow truck driver from McGann and Chester stopped and came over with a knife to cut the belt off. They got the man out of the car and then did the same to the man driving a Toyota, also up in flames. Both were awake, incoherent, moaning, and not responsive.

At the same time, about nine other dispatchers passing by the crash on their way home also stopped by to help.

"Some of them were slowing down traffic. Some of them were assessing the two patients," Craig said. "It was great teamwork, just like we do here, just out on the road."

Pennsylvania State Police told KDKA-TV the driver of the Toyota, 22-year-old Tristan Larson, got on I-376 eastbound near the 79 interchange traveling the wrong way and hit the Jeep and a Kia sedan head-on.

First responders transported both Larson and the driver of the Jeep to Allegheny General Hospital. The Kia driver was not hurt.

As for Craig, despite the risks, he said he would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

"I would hope that if myself or my family was involved in that situation, and somebody that had the skills or the confidence to stop and help, that they would stop and do the same thing I did," Craig said.

Police said they took Larson into custody for a suspected DUI with charges pending as they wait for lab results.