Guillermo Shelton seemed to be holding back tears during Tuesday’s Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting. Shelton was being honored by the county for the heroic work he and Austin Leonard performed in February.
On Feb. 29, Stafford Fire and Rescue units were dispatched for a reported vehicle fire with entrapment on Interstate 95. When the units arrived, they discovered a vehicle on fire with an injured person outside the vehicle.
Shelton, a truck driver, and Leonard, a construction worker on the scene, rescued the victim just seconds before the car became engulfed by flames. The pair had worked together using fire extinguishers to get the driver out of the vehicle safely.
The patient was turned over to emergency responders upon their arrival and transported to the hospital. The patient has since been discharged to a different facility.
“I just know if we hadn’t stopped, that person wouldn’t be alive today,” Shelton said as he accepted his recognition from Board Chairperson Meg Bohmke and Fire Chief Joseph Cardello.
Shelton drove five hours from his home in North Carolina to accept his proclamation. He said that he usually doesn’t take Interstate 95.
“But that day, for some reason, God put me there and thank God he did — because I was there at the right time, the right second,” he said.
Stafford Fire Chief Joseph Cardello introduces Guillermo Shelton (center) as Supervisor Meg Bohmke presents him with a proclamation and plaque. (Photos courtesy of Stafford County)
