Dramatic body-cam footage from the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office as well as a video shot by K105 of a nearly fatal vehicle fire early Wednesday morning have been released.
The initial information provided by Grayson County Dispatch was that a vehicle had wrecked at the intersection. But, as first responders were en route, dispatch reported the vehicle, a Lincoln MKX, had caught fire and that the male driver was still inside.
Lane was the first on the scene, as the Lincoln was fully engulfed in flames upon his arrival. Lane and a private citizen, now identified as John Newton, of Leitchfield, approached the burning vehicle and pulled the driver, Mason Whobrey, out of the Lincoln. Whobrey, who was conscious as he sat in the burning vehicle, appeared to be dazed or in a trance, according to first responders.
As is clearly apparent in the photos, if Whobrey had remained in the vehicle he surely would have died.
“With no regard for his own safety, Dpty. Lane acted courageously immediately upon his arrival at the scene,” Sheriff Norman Chaffins said in extolling Lane’s life-saving action. “It appeared from the video that the man refused to exit the burning car when coaxed by the citizens. Minutes matter when our police respond to these types of calls. Had Dpty. Lane arrived or hesitated a couple of minutes later than what he did, the next car arriving on scene would probably have been the County Coroner! We are truly blessed to have Thomas serving the community in which he was raised!”
The wreck occurred when Whobrey drove directly into a ditch on Shrewsbury Road from Schoolhouse Road, causing significant damage to the front of the Lincoln. It’s possible, according to a witness, that Whobrey was stopped at the stop sign on School House Road and accelerated forward into the ditch.
He was given a field sobriety test, arrested and charged with DUI.
Whobrey was transported to Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center before being lodged in the Grayson County Detention Center.
Grayson Co. Deputy Thomas Lane’s body-cam footage
K105 video footage just filmed only moments after the driver was pulled from the vehicle
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
