Plymouth, IL, Rural Carrier Associate Elyse Strange was delivering mail recently when she spotted a pickup truck smoldering alongside the road.
She stopped to investigate, and as she approached the vehicle, she was shocked to see that the driver was still behind the wheel in the smoke-filled cab.
The postal employee rushed to open the passenger door and urged the man to get out, but he was unresponsive.
Strange pulled him out of the truck and got him a safe distance away. She then called 911, and while she was on the phone, the truck burst into flames.
She stayed with the man until nearby residents took notice and came outside to watch over him. He was hospitalized for treatment of a stroke and is expected to recover.
“Had it not been for Elyse’s instincts and determination to get the man to safety, the outcome would have been much different,” Plymouth Postmaster Karen Bisby said.
Strange added that in a moment of crisis like that, “you know what you have to do, and God gave me the courage.”