Local

‘Instinct took over': Witnesses describe saving woman trapped under pickup truck

Witnesses didn’t think twice before they jumped into action Thursday night to help a woman who was trapped under a pickup truck in College Park.

Steven Kaczmarczyk said he was one block away from home with his car windows down when he heard a shriek of terror.

“Just a scream, like a screech, horror. I’d rather forget it, to be honest,” he said.

On Edgewater Drive and Smith Street, he said, a woman was pinned beneath the front wheel of a pickup truck.

“Instinct took over and I just floored it 100 yards, parked my car and jumped out,” said Kaczmarczyk

As he ran to help, he said the woman’s husband was trying to protect their two children while looking out for his wife.

“He was just screaming at the driver, ‘Don’t move the truck,’” said Kaczmarczyk.

That’s when help came running from all directions—from high school football players who were eating at Tijuana Flats to business owners such as Giovanni Vianello.

“I put my hand in there on the truck just like the other guys were trying to do and I lifted what I could,” he said.

Kaczmarczyk said about 10 people helped lift the 4,000 to 5,000-pound truck and pull the woman out.

He said it’s a day he may not ever forget.

“You do what you have to do, and that truck had to go up,” said Kaczmarczyk.

Orlando police have not said if the driver will face charges.

Len Kiese

Len Kiese

I am extremely excited to call Central Florida home.