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American Morning
Bernie Wittkamp, Wife Helen Probably Owe Lives to Good Samaritans
Aired January 28, 2003 - 08:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-one-year-old Bernie Wittkamp and his wife Helen probably owe their lives to some good Samaritans. The group rescued the couple from their car just seconds before it was struck by a freight train. An incredible story.
And joining us now from Washington to share the details, Bernie Wittkamp and Shaun Meyers, one of the men who saved him.
Good morning to you both.
Thanks for joining us.
SHAUN MEYERS, RESCUER: Good morning. BERNARD WITTKAMP, RESCUED FROM CAR: Good morning.
ZAHN: Mr. Wittkamp, you must feel like a very lucky man today.
WITTKAMP: Indeed, I do. A true miracle.
ZAHN: It was a miracle.
Shaun, why don't you describe to us what happened so we can understand how miraculous this rescue was.
MEYERS: Well, my wife and I were sitting at a traffic light on U.S. Route 1 and we saw Mr. Wittkamp's car go over the embankment and land on the railroad tracks below. I asked my wife to call 911 and I went down to see if I could help in any way. At that point several other motorists also stopped and came down to help.
Two young ladies went over to see if they could help Mr. Wittkamp and I went around to see if I could help his wife in any way. We looked in the car. We noticed the air bags had come out and we also noticed that there was a wheelchair in the back of the car. So we wanted to try to help Mrs. Wittkamp in any way we could.
So we pried the door open and I kind of kneeled down just tried to talk to her and let her know that everything was going to be OK, that we had called the rescue squad and they should be there shortly.
As a group, we had all agreed not to try to move the Wittkamps because we didn't know what their injuries were. And we were going to just sit there until the rescue squad came when one of the ladies happened to look up and see that the train was coming. And at that point we decided we had to move them and we just tried to get them out as soon as possible. The two young ladies were able to get Mr. Wittkamp up the hill and to safety. And I was having some trouble getting Mrs. Wittkamp out and I screamed for help and one of the people who was there with me pried the door open and he was able to swing her legs out from the bottom of the car and I was able to grab her by the lapels and we actually put her in a fireman's carry over the gentleman's shoulder and as we all turned to get away from the car, I guess we took maybe two steps, three steps at the most. We had to dive into the hillside. And the train struck the car at that point.
ZAHN: You literally were two to three steps away from all getting hit by this train?
MEYERS: Yes.
ZAHN: And, of course, you had to worry, too, about whether the car was going to end up on top of you, right?
MEYERS: Well, that was the other thing we were concerned with. We didn't know what direction the car would go when the train hit it. There was so much noise, there was, the ground was shaking. There was so much wind. We just kind of dove into the hillside and huddled there until the train had passed. The main thing was that, you know, several people really came down and helped and without any one of those people, it would not have been possible.
The young man that helped me pry the door open and get Mrs. Wittkamp out, I just have to say thank you, because I couldn't have done it by myself and there's no way that I would have had enough time if he wasn't there.
ZAHN: Wow, and I understand, Shaun, your wife was standing at the top of the hill and couldn't really make out what was going on below. She could see the light of the train coming. She had no idea whether you were going to be OK. You are one brave man.
Mr. Wittkamp, what would you like to say this morning to your rescuers?
WITTKAMP: Well, just thank god for miracles coming from heaven through Mr. Meyers and all of the other wonderful people who were so quick to come to our rescue without any regard for their own safety. And their calming tone of voice to assure us that everything was going to be OK and, you know, that we would be all right. And it's just remarkable that so many people were willing to give of themselves and, you know, without regard to their own safety.
And just thank you so very much. It is something beyond words. And I call it another miracle on Route 1. And, you know, just thanks so very much. My heart goes out to you.
ZAHN: Shaun?
MEYERS: Again, I just, you know, want to thank god, because without god we wouldn't have been able to do this, and all the people that helped, it was just a wonderful expression of love. And I think that it lets everybody know that the world isn't lost, that people still care about each other and I would hope that if something like this happened to one of my loved ones someone would do the same.
ZAHN: Well, we salute you and your fellow rescuers and -- we shouldn't say fellow, because there were some women helping out, too. And Mr. Wittkamp, we can see the abrasion on your head and we understand your wife is doing better today.
WITTKAMP: She is.
ZAHN: We wish her the best and hope she continues to recover from an extremely traumatic situation.
Thank you both for dropping by this morning and sharing your story.
WITTKAMP: Thank you so very much.
MEYERS: Thank you.
WITTKAMP: And, again, thanks to Mr. Meyers.
ZAHN: Our pleasure to be able to provide the time for you to talk to each other.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Samaritans>
Aired January 28, 2003 - 08:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-one-year-old Bernie Wittkamp and his wife Helen probably owe their lives to some good Samaritans. The group rescued the couple from their car just seconds before it was struck by a freight train. An incredible story.
And joining us now from Washington to share the details, Bernie Wittkamp and Shaun Meyers, one of the men who saved him.
Good morning to you both.
Thanks for joining us.
SHAUN MEYERS, RESCUER: Good morning. BERNARD WITTKAMP, RESCUED FROM CAR: Good morning.
ZAHN: Mr. Wittkamp, you must feel like a very lucky man today.
WITTKAMP: Indeed, I do. A true miracle.
ZAHN: It was a miracle.
Shaun, why don't you describe to us what happened so we can understand how miraculous this rescue was.
MEYERS: Well, my wife and I were sitting at a traffic light on U.S. Route 1 and we saw Mr. Wittkamp's car go over the embankment and land on the railroad tracks below. I asked my wife to call 911 and I went down to see if I could help in any way. At that point several other motorists also stopped and came down to help.
Two young ladies went over to see if they could help Mr. Wittkamp and I went around to see if I could help his wife in any way. We looked in the car. We noticed the air bags had come out and we also noticed that there was a wheelchair in the back of the car. So we wanted to try to help Mrs. Wittkamp in any way we could.
So we pried the door open and I kind of kneeled down just tried to talk to her and let her know that everything was going to be OK, that we had called the rescue squad and they should be there shortly.
As a group, we had all agreed not to try to move the Wittkamps because we didn't know what their injuries were. And we were going to just sit there until the rescue squad came when one of the ladies happened to look up and see that the train was coming. And at that point we decided we had to move them and we just tried to get them out as soon as possible. The two young ladies were able to get Mr. Wittkamp up the hill and to safety. And I was having some trouble getting Mrs. Wittkamp out and I screamed for help and one of the people who was there with me pried the door open and he was able to swing her legs out from the bottom of the car and I was able to grab her by the lapels and we actually put her in a fireman's carry over the gentleman's shoulder and as we all turned to get away from the car, I guess we took maybe two steps, three steps at the most. We had to dive into the hillside. And the train struck the car at that point.
ZAHN: You literally were two to three steps away from all getting hit by this train?
MEYERS: Yes.
ZAHN: And, of course, you had to worry, too, about whether the car was going to end up on top of you, right?
MEYERS: Well, that was the other thing we were concerned with. We didn't know what direction the car would go when the train hit it. There was so much noise, there was, the ground was shaking. There was so much wind. We just kind of dove into the hillside and huddled there until the train had passed. The main thing was that, you know, several people really came down and helped and without any one of those people, it would not have been possible.
The young man that helped me pry the door open and get Mrs. Wittkamp out, I just have to say thank you, because I couldn't have done it by myself and there's no way that I would have had enough time if he wasn't there.
ZAHN: Wow, and I understand, Shaun, your wife was standing at the top of the hill and couldn't really make out what was going on below. She could see the light of the train coming. She had no idea whether you were going to be OK. You are one brave man.
Mr. Wittkamp, what would you like to say this morning to your rescuers?
WITTKAMP: Well, just thank god for miracles coming from heaven through Mr. Meyers and all of the other wonderful people who were so quick to come to our rescue without any regard for their own safety. And their calming tone of voice to assure us that everything was going to be OK and, you know, that we would be all right. And it's just remarkable that so many people were willing to give of themselves and, you know, without regard to their own safety.
And just thank you so very much. It is something beyond words. And I call it another miracle on Route 1. And, you know, just thanks so very much. My heart goes out to you.
ZAHN: Shaun?
MEYERS: Again, I just, you know, want to thank god, because without god we wouldn't have been able to do this, and all the people that helped, it was just a wonderful expression of love. And I think that it lets everybody know that the world isn't lost, that people still care about each other and I would hope that if something like this happened to one of my loved ones someone would do the same.
ZAHN: Well, we salute you and your fellow rescuers and -- we shouldn't say fellow, because there were some women helping out, too. And Mr. Wittkamp, we can see the abrasion on your head and we understand your wife is doing better today.
WITTKAMP: She is.
ZAHN: We wish her the best and hope she continues to recover from an extremely traumatic situation.
Thank you both for dropping by this morning and sharing your story.
WITTKAMP: Thank you so very much.
MEYERS: Thank you.
WITTKAMP: And, again, thanks to Mr. Meyers.
ZAHN: Our pleasure to be able to provide the time for you to talk to each other.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Samaritans>
