ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997 TAG: 9703050082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: HERNDON
SOURCE: Associated Press
ON HIS WAY TO WORK, a Northern Virginia aerospace engineer pulled a Herndon woman to safety from her burning vehicle.
Bob Stearns was on his way to work when he heard a crash and saw a white Jeep Cherokee fly in front of his car. Moments later, the Jeep rolled onto its roof and burst into flames.
Without thinking, Stearns, 53, pulled over, kicked in the window of the burning vehicle, reached in with both arms and pulled the 36-year-old woman inside to safety.
``I got down on my knees and I was able to reach in,'' Stearns said Tuesday from Inova Fairfax Hospital, where he is recovering from second- and third-degree burns. ``I slid her out and the other fellows helped pull her away from car. She was still burning, so we rolled her over on the grass. Luckily, it was raining and the grass was wet.''
Mahshid Hussain of Herndon was flown by helicopter to Washington Hospital Center, where she was listed in critical condition Tuesday with burns over 60 percent of her body.
``He saved her life,'' Battalion Chief Larry Johnson of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department said after the incident Monday. ``If nobody had pulled her out, she would have died right there.''
Johnson said people often make rescue attempts, but ``the heat and flames will drive them away. This was a very brave man. He could just as easily been consumed [by fire] with her.''
Stearns, an aerospace engineer, was still being treated at Inova on Tuesday, but he said he expected to be released soon. A hospital spokeswoman said he is in good condition.
``You don't see this kind of disregard for your own personal life,'' said Charlie Cunningham, an FBI agent who also stopped to help shortly after the wreck. ``Not many times do you get to be a witness to some heroic actions. He couldn't even feel his hands. The skin was falling off them.''
According to police, Hussain was traveling north when she suddenly crossed into the southbound lanes and slid sideways into oncoming traffic. The crash caused the Jeep's fuel tank to rupture.
Investigators on Tuesday still didn't know what caused the accident but said speed was not a factor. Two other motorists suffered less serious injuries.
``I guess I just was the closest to the vehicle,'' Stearns said Monday.
He also gave credit to Cunningham and two other men who helped in the rescue. ``We hope we did enough to give her a chance to live.''
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Bob Stearns, 53, bathes his scorched hands in aby CNBwhirlpool at Inova Fairfax Hospital on Monday, after he pulled a
woman from a burning car in Northern Virginia. The woman, Mahshid
Hussain, 36, of Herndon, is listed in critical condition with burns
over 60 percent of her body.