Firefighter Jeff Smith was driving a pumper truck to an emergency last week when he made a split-second decision. The decision that the 21-year veteran made was self-sacrifice. A car was coming at him Tuesday afternoon in what would have undoubtedly resulted in a head-on collision. Smith cranked the steering wheel sharply, according to KMBC,
causing the pumper to crash into the car at an angle and likely saving the lives of a 21-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter, who was buckled up in a back seat of the car.
But Smith didn't leave the crash unscathed: His leg was nearly severed when the pumper truck hit the tree. Doctors had to amputate Smith's lower left leg, and an update on his condition hasn't been released.
Kansas City police Sgt. Bill Mahoney told KMBC that Smith would have left the crash unscathed had he hit the car head-on.
"If he had gone straight, he would have been fine," Mahoney said. "But he did what he had to do."
Instead, his actions likely saved the lives of the mother and daughter, Mahoney said. Smith's actions were nothing short of heroic.
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