PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (NewsNation) — A Woodbridge, Virginia, bishop is being recognized as a hero after he rescued a boy from a fiery Maryland crash Monday.
Maryland State Police said a dump truck overturned and caught fire after getting a flat tire. An SUV that attempted to get out of the way of the truck also overturned, police said.
Bishop pulls boy away from flames
Bishop John Adonteng Boateng, the founder and leader of Divine Prayer Line, was driving to a meeting with his wife when he heard an explosion “like a bomb.” When he saw the wreckage, he said it was his first instinct to rush over to see if there was any way he could help.
“To see humanity at that parallel, it was painful,” Boateng told NewsNation’s Nick Smith in an interview on “Morning in America.”
As Boateng approached, he saw the little boy just pulled from the wreckage, grabbed him and brought him away from the flames. As he carried the boy away, smoke radiated from the boy’s singed clothing.
Two other men with their fire extinguishers stayed behind, trying to help put out the fire.
‘He felt comfort in my arms’
Boateng comforted the boy who had just seen his mother burning in the vehicle. He had seen her burning too and heard her cries for help.
“I had to tell him, ‘Mommy’s fine, mommy’s fine, mommy’s fine,'” Boateng said. “He asked if he was going to die, but I comforted him and I told him no, he will not die, he’ll be fine.”
He continued, “I believe the words I shared with him helped him because he stopped crying. He found comfort in my arms.”
Boateng said he doesn’t think he deserved any peculiar credit for his role in the rescue. Rather, he said the credit should be offered to the other people who were there helping, especially those who pulled the mother from the burning wreck, and to the police who responded to the accident.
“This is what America stands for in terms of calamity and difficulty disaster. People jump on board from all walks of life to help each other,” he said. “This is just the spirit of America.”
About ten minutes after the bishop sprang into action, the police and an ambulance arrived. The little boy and his mother were then transported to the local hospital where they were treated for severe injuries but were expected to survive.
A police investigation into the crash remains ongoing.