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Good Samaritan rushes to help after witnessing I-69 crash

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A good Samaritan who stopped for the Wednesday morning pile-up on I-69 near Markle said it’s a miracle that no one died.

Jeremiah Lowe was on his way to Fort Wayne when the chain reaction crash happened in front of his eyes, putting him first on scene. The sales manager for a home improvement company in Indianapolis was mistaken for a first responder, helping two drivers from their cars and briefing police on how it happened.

A van slipping on ice is all it took.

“He decided to floor it, which is never a good idea and ended up shooting across the median,” Lowe said.

The van hit a semi head-on, causing the semi to go into the southbound lanes, sending its trailer sideways. The truck behind crashed into it.

That’s when another semi trying to go around the crash, tipped sideways, ran four cars into a ditch and slid a couple hundred feet.

“They were all so shaken, their hands were quivering,” Lowe said. “Those poor people, you want to talk about scared.”

Lowe immediately got out to help.

“This guy goes, ‘Help me, I’m stuck.’ So, I grabbed the mirror that broke off and I started bashing in the windshield and I basically made about 20 holes around and so I was able to kick that and I was able to peel the glass back and tet that old boy out.”

He said he was most afraid of leaking oil or gas causing an explosion, however, that didn’t stop him from helping the first semi driver, who had a huge gash.

“The blood pouring out everywhere. You’re just like, ‘Are you still OK?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah I’m fine’, it was nuts.”

The preacher’s son helped even after relief came because he said it comes down to being human.

“I don’t know how you can just drive past. I mean, my life isn’t that important that I’m going to ignore somebody in a wreck. That’s just not in me. I just think that’s so rude. So, I just wanted to help the best I could,” Lowe said. “Life’s an adventure. You live it one time. I’ll be darned if I”m not going to get involved when someone’s in need.”

Police said everyone was expected to be OK.