NORFOLK -- Two brave ODU students were in the right place at the right time for a mother and her young child.
Jason Benning and Joshua Moore were headed home after an evening class Wednesday when they saw an unusual site on the shoulder of I-264 East near the I-64 interchange. A car with its front bumper was smashed and it was facing into traffic, so they pulled over, as other drivers did.
One of them saw a red glow inside the grill, so they ran over to see if anyone was inside. Another Good Samaritan pulled over and called 911. Moore took a hammer from the other guy's truck and smashed the passenger-side window to get the door open.
They pulled the driver from the car and then heard a child's cries.
"I asked her if she was alright, if she was okay. Right at about that point, I heard a baby crying and my heart just sank to the complete bottom. Me and Josh looked at each other and we started running back toward the car," described Benning.
The two worked frantically, wrestling with the car seat to get the little boy out.
It wasn't long after everyone's efforts that the car burst into flames.
"Within 30 seconds of us clearing the car, it was engulfed in flames," described Moore. "There was no time to spare whatsoever."
Va. State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Anaya says the woman and her child were taken to the hospital.
She says the cause of the single-vehicle crash is under investigation.
Benning and Moore are engineering students and members of the Hampton Roads Naval ROTC.
They told 13News they aren't really comfortable with being called heroes, but they sure are glad they jumped into action.
"Everything that we had learned and it all just took effect, and we were more concerned with getting them out because I didn't want to go home that night knowing that we could have done something and we didn't," concluded Benning.
