Boy saved from burning car
Published: September 5, 2003
With a wife and three young children, David Custer says he is not the kind of person who likes to take risks.
But Wednesday night, as he saw another man struggling to save a small boy trapped in a burning car, he knew he had no choice.
“It doesn’t matter what race, color or creed, when there is a child inside a burning car you cast all other matters aside and do as though it were your own child,” said Custer, who lives in Parkman.
Custer and Mark Potter of Canaan rescued the 3-year-old boy as he lay trapped in a 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier about halfway down a 20-foot embankment off Tuttle Road. Within two minutes of the rescue, the car exploded in flames, setting the surrounding trees on fire, according to Custer.
The car, driven by Lindsay Ryder, 22, of Winslow, the boy’s mother, slid off the dirt road after Ryder turned onto that road from Hill Road shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters and police say it is almost certain the boy, Evan Moody, 3, of Winslow, would not have survived without the intervention of the two men.
Canaan Firefighter John Graf said he arrived about three minutes after the accident was reported and found the car engulfed in flames.
Custer said the rescue was a team effort.
On his way to deliver office machine parts to Portland as part of his job, he stopped when he saw a woman waving frantically by the side of the road and found the car lodged precariously on its side, smoke pouring from the engine and Potter on top trying to reach the boy through the driver’s side door.
Potter could not move farther into the vehicle without running the risk of the door closing behind him, possibly trapping himself and the boy in the car.
“He took a risk of his life to crawl into that car, there is no doubt about it,” Custer said.
Custer said he climbed on top of the car to hold the door open while Potter crawled partly in.
Almost immediately, Potter called for a knife, which an older man provided. Potter used the knife to cut the straps holding the boy in.
But something was still holding the boy inside and time was running short as billowing smoke made it harder for the rescuers to see and breathe.
“I kept worrying about the car exploding,” Custer said.
Ryder could see the situation was getting worse and was terrified.
“Please, save my baby. Please get my baby out of there,” she screamed, according to Potter.
Finally, aware that they had only minutes, Custer reached in to try to drag the boy out.
“I told the kid, ‘This is going to hurt a little bit, but I am going to pull you,’ ” Custer said.
While Custer pulled the boy, Potter cut the remaining straps and the boy was finally freed.
Following the rescue, Ryder was taken to Redington-Fairview General Hospital where she was treated an released, according to police. Her son was not injured.
Thursday, Custer said he was mentally exhausted, but could not have passed by without helping.
“You don’t think about your own fear when you see a child,” he said. “I am just glad everything turned out all right.”
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