Bystanders lift car to save man’s life

SALT LAKE CITY – The university math students heard the crash, saw the smoke and knew they had to act quickly. A motorcyclist had just collided with a car and was pinned beneath the flaming, twisted metal wreckage.

Disregarding their own safety, they rushed to the street and lined up with more than a half dozen others on one side of the car. Within moments, they managed to lift the roughly 4,000-pound car just high enough for one rescuer to pull Brandon Wright to safety.

For their actions, the rescuers are being called “heroes” and “angels” – their few minutes of heroics were captured on video and have gone viral on the Internet. The man they saved – a 21-year-old Utah State University student – is grateful.

“I’m just very thankful for everyone that helped me out,” Wright told the Associated Press by telephone from his hospital bed. “They saved my life.”

At a hospital news conference on Tuesday, Wright’s uncle, Tyler Riggs, recounted what Wright told his family about Monday’s accident.

The crash happened near Utah State University in Logan, roughly 90 miles north of Salt Lake City. Wright was headed to study at a computer lab, Riggs said. The BMW was pulling out of a parking lot.

Tire and skid marks on the highway showed that Wright laid the bike down and slid along the road before colliding with the car, Assistant Logan Police Chief Jeff Curtis said.

The bike hit the car’s hood and bounced to the ground, while Wright, who was not wearing a helmet, slid under the car and then both vehicles burst into flames, Curtis said.