DATE: Tuesday, August 5, 1997               TAG: 9708050095

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   40 lines

TWO PULLED FROM BURNING TRUCK BY SUFFOLK CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

Construction workers building a church on Route 17 pulled two men from a burning truck Monday, probably saving their lives.

The two men were badly burned in the one-vehicle wreck, but their condition was not known Monday night. A worker who saw the rescue and called 911 said he has no doubt the men would have died at the scene if not for the quick response.

``If we hadn't been there, they would have burned to death,'' said the witness, Paul Chapman, an electrician with Four-C Construction Co. of Chesapeake.

The truck, owned by the Navy, was southbound about 3:20 p.m. near the 2600 block of Bridge Road when the driver lost control and the truck hit a telephone pole. The impact snapped the truck in two, separating the body from the chassis, and ignited a fire, a Fire Department spokesman said.

Nearby, about 20 construction workers were building Faith Lutheran Church.

``All of a sudden, we heard a boom,'' Chapman said. ``I thought a transformer went out on the pole.''

Instead, the workers found the truck in flames, upside down in a ravine. Several workers rushed to the truck and pulled out the men. None of the rescuers was hurt.

Both men in the truck suffered second- and third-degree burns, fire officials said. The driver, Richard M. Rayner Jr., 31, of Lansing Avenue in Portsmouth, suffered major burns to his face, arms, chest and legs, police said. A passenger, Andrew M. Herd Jr., 57, of Condor Court in Chesapeake, suffered burns to his legs. Both men were flown by helicopter to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

There was no alcohol involved in the crash, and both men were wearing seat belts, said police spokesman Mike Simpkins. Mechanical failure may have caused the accident, Simpkins said. No charges are pending.

Fire Capt. Jeff Messinger said he will recommend that the rescuers be honored for heroism. KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC

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