kaorder1999
01-25-2007, 09:04 AM
'Heroic' coach stops careening car
Accident sends vehicle on path toward players; driver only one injured
07:59 AM CST on Thursday, January 25, 2007
By LAUREN D'AVOLIO and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
ldavolio@dallasnews.com
hyan@dallasnews.com
As an out-of-control car careened toward his soccer players, coach Steven Harvey had less than 10 seconds to figure out how to save the John Paul II High School students.
The 22 junior varsity and varsity players were mid-drill about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday when they heard the frightening bang of an accident at West Plano Parkway and Woodburn Corners in Plano.
The driver of the sage green Nissan coming toward the boys was seriously injured when his car was apparently T-boned.
"The guys especially noticed his head was going from side to side," Mr. Harvey said, noting the man's eyes were open as he veered toward them. "He was out."
Mr. Harvey, who's 32 and lives in Rockwall, estimates the car was traveling about 20 mph when it jumped a curb onto the field. Initially, Mr. Harvey thought the driver was pulling onto the field to escape traffic. Then he saw the damage.
"The driver's window was gone – it was shattered in the intersection. It looked like a horseshoe on wheels," Mr. Harvey said of the man's car, also noting the driver's side door had been shoved to the right side. "He got slammed."
Mr. Harvey was simply wondering if the car "was ever going to stop."
It didn't.
The car had crossed two-thirds of the field when Mr. Harvey realized he needed to take decisive action.
"I just timed it so I could meet him at the driver's side door. That's when I jumped in the driver's side window," he said. "I just reached down and threw it in park. I think the emergency brake was crushed. I couldn't even see it."
But shoving the car into park did nothing. So, as a last resort, Mr. Harvey fumbled around for the brake on the floor.
"I find the pedal and hit the break until it stopped moving, I turned off the engine, but the keys wouldn't come out," he said. "Everything was just banged."
The whole ordeal lasted about 10 seconds, he said. The driver, believed to be about 50 years old, didn't breathe normally for about a minute.
"I finally started getting some responses from him," Mr. Harvey said.
Police and firefighters arrived in less than three minutes. The driver of the Nissan was whisked to a nearby hospital. His name and condition were not released, but Plano police spokesman Rick McDonald said his injuries were significant. No one else was seriously injured.
He said the outcome could have been much different if Mr. Harvey hadn't intervened.
"The officer at the scene said the coach did a great job and acted very heroic," Officer McDonald said. "Someone could have been killed."
Mr. Harvey was more modest about his actions.
"Honestly, truly, there wasn't much to it," he said. "I don't think anything I did was heroic. I don't think anything I did was out of the ordinary."
If anyone deserves credit, Mr. Harvey said, it's his soccer players. They sprinted to a nearby parking lot and called 911 on a cellphone. Then they stayed out of the way and were "a very good crowd of bystanders," he said.
Mr. Harvey said he jumped into the car because he didn't want anyone else to be injured.
"The main thing is he was heading for a crowd of boys who were just standing there pointing," he said. "I didn't want anyone else to be hurt. I didn't want him to be hurt worse by hitting someone else."
Students at the school say they appreciate Mr. Harvey – who also teaches Algebra I and II at the school – whether he's saving lives or not.
"He's a good role model. He's a good all-around guy," said Brad Balda, a freshman and one of Mr. Harvey's students. "For him to put himself in danger to save students is pretty awesome."
Accident sends vehicle on path toward players; driver only one injured
07:59 AM CST on Thursday, January 25, 2007
By LAUREN D'AVOLIO and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
ldavolio@dallasnews.com
hyan@dallasnews.com
As an out-of-control car careened toward his soccer players, coach Steven Harvey had less than 10 seconds to figure out how to save the John Paul II High School students.
The 22 junior varsity and varsity players were mid-drill about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday when they heard the frightening bang of an accident at West Plano Parkway and Woodburn Corners in Plano.
The driver of the sage green Nissan coming toward the boys was seriously injured when his car was apparently T-boned.
"The guys especially noticed his head was going from side to side," Mr. Harvey said, noting the man's eyes were open as he veered toward them. "He was out."
Mr. Harvey, who's 32 and lives in Rockwall, estimates the car was traveling about 20 mph when it jumped a curb onto the field. Initially, Mr. Harvey thought the driver was pulling onto the field to escape traffic. Then he saw the damage.
"The driver's window was gone – it was shattered in the intersection. It looked like a horseshoe on wheels," Mr. Harvey said of the man's car, also noting the driver's side door had been shoved to the right side. "He got slammed."
Mr. Harvey was simply wondering if the car "was ever going to stop."
It didn't.
The car had crossed two-thirds of the field when Mr. Harvey realized he needed to take decisive action.
"I just timed it so I could meet him at the driver's side door. That's when I jumped in the driver's side window," he said. "I just reached down and threw it in park. I think the emergency brake was crushed. I couldn't even see it."
But shoving the car into park did nothing. So, as a last resort, Mr. Harvey fumbled around for the brake on the floor.
"I find the pedal and hit the break until it stopped moving, I turned off the engine, but the keys wouldn't come out," he said. "Everything was just banged."
The whole ordeal lasted about 10 seconds, he said. The driver, believed to be about 50 years old, didn't breathe normally for about a minute.
"I finally started getting some responses from him," Mr. Harvey said.
Police and firefighters arrived in less than three minutes. The driver of the Nissan was whisked to a nearby hospital. His name and condition were not released, but Plano police spokesman Rick McDonald said his injuries were significant. No one else was seriously injured.
He said the outcome could have been much different if Mr. Harvey hadn't intervened.
"The officer at the scene said the coach did a great job and acted very heroic," Officer McDonald said. "Someone could have been killed."
Mr. Harvey was more modest about his actions.
"Honestly, truly, there wasn't much to it," he said. "I don't think anything I did was heroic. I don't think anything I did was out of the ordinary."
If anyone deserves credit, Mr. Harvey said, it's his soccer players. They sprinted to a nearby parking lot and called 911 on a cellphone. Then they stayed out of the way and were "a very good crowd of bystanders," he said.
Mr. Harvey said he jumped into the car because he didn't want anyone else to be injured.
"The main thing is he was heading for a crowd of boys who were just standing there pointing," he said. "I didn't want anyone else to be hurt. I didn't want him to be hurt worse by hitting someone else."
Students at the school say they appreciate Mr. Harvey – who also teaches Algebra I and II at the school – whether he's saving lives or not.
"He's a good role model. He's a good all-around guy," said Brad Balda, a freshman and one of Mr. Harvey's students. "For him to put himself in danger to save students is pretty awesome."