Disabled woman rescued from burning van
Published: October 12, 2006
A wheelchair-bound Cheboygan County woman was rescued from a burning van by her husband and a state police trooper who happened upon them along Interstate 75.
Trooper Kevin Hansz found Richard Woodruff, 64, parked on the southbound shoulder of the interstate near M-27 about 2 p.m. Monday. Heavy, dark smoke was pouring from the vehicle’s engine and Hansz used a fire extinguisher from his patrol car but was unable to control the fire, he said.
That’s when Hansz said he heard Linda Woodruff, 60, screaming from inside the burning van, which was filling with smoke and flames.
He and Richard Woodruff worked together to lift the woman and her wheelchair out of the vehicle because the electrical chair lift system wasn’t working.
“I’m not an overly religious person, but I think people are in the right place at the right time sometimes,” said Hansz, a 12-year veteran of the Cheboygan post. “I think Mr. Woodruff would have been hard-pressed to get her out, with the lift not working and such.
“I think the circumstances would have been tragic.”
Neither of the Woodruffs were injured and they declined medical treatment. Tuscarora Township firefighters extinguished the blaze, which destroyed the van.
The Mullett Township couple were on their way to Traverse City for a medical appointment when the vehicle caught fire. Linda Woodruff was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis four years ago and the couple purchased the van Sept. 29 for $4,500, their first vehicle equipped with a wheelchair lift gate, Hansz said.
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