OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — The saying goes: Right place at the right time. And for a Muskegon man, he said that couldn't be more true for him this past Saturday when he witnessed an accident on I-96.
"I saw the car tumble, and then the motor fly out of it," said Michael Porter. "I pulled over immediately and ran up to the car."
Porter was heading to work Saturday afternoon driving eastbound on I-96 in Crockery Township when the crash happened only yards ahead of him.
"I heard a girl screaming at the top of her lungs," he said. "She was just screaming, 'My brother, my brother!'"
The Chevy Malibu had rolled several times after trying to pass a truck and merge into the left lane. Inside was a 17-year-old boy and his 16-year-old sister, who was the passenger.
"I told her to cover her eyes, and when I was sure they were covered, I punched out the back window," said Porter. "Then she squeezed out, and I pulled her out through the back window."
Her brother, though, was still stuck.
"I stuck my head into the car and asked him if he was okay," Porter said. "He said he was, but I could see blood coming out of his nose and it looked like his leg was pinned under the steering wheel."
Porter said that smoke was coming from the car, so he was initially worried about an explosion. But when he remembered the motor had come out, he knew that wouldn't happen. He was actually on his way to his job at Select Auto selling used cars so his knowledge came in handy.
Porter waited until first responders could safely get the teen out of the car, and he and his sister were taken to the hospital. Luckily, both had only minor injuries.
"Hearing that poor girl scream is something that I will never not hear," said Porter. "I'm just glad she's okay."
The driver of the pickup truck, a 45-year-old man from Muskegon, wasn't hurt.
"He actually gave me some napkins for my hands because I was bleeding," said Porter.
But the whole situation weighed heavily on Porter's heart even days after it happened. He has an 18-year-old son and would want someone to help him if they were there.
"When I was sitting at home pulling glass out of my knuckle, I just kept replaying that in my mind," he said. "It was such a surreal moment."
Porter said the family of the teenagers reached out to him after the accident and thanked him for his help. He said was just relieved that they were okay.
"They definitely had somebody watching out for them that day," he said. "Somebody up above, or some guardian angels for sure."
The mother of the two teenagers, Jessica Gordon, also spoke to 13 ON YOUR SIDE to express her gratitude for the bystanders. She said the following:
"I'm mostly grateful my kids are alive, but also extremely grateful for the passersby that stopped to help them in their time of stress/panic. There were quite a few vehicles that stopped too. I honestly couldn't believe the number of people that were stopped and were concerned for the well being of complete strangers. But especially thanks to Michael for his fast acting response. My daughter was in a full blown panic attack and son was still unconscious when he initially broke the back window for them to get out of. My kids were obviously traumatized, so him being there in that moment was God sent. There was also a lady with her daughter who allowed my kids to sit in her car to get warm until I arrived. I really appreciated her and the calmness she provided them until I could get there to them. Literally every single person who stopped (because they saw what happened) were in shock when I arrived as well, that the people in that car walked away. It was a honestly a miracle! We are seriously counting our blessing and extremely thankful to our community!"
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