Barrie man Rob Newman is among three people being hailed as heroes after a daring rescue Friday night.

Newman was on his way to a family campsite when he came across a fiery crash near Waubaushene. He says at that moment, adrenaline kicked in and he rushed over to help. 

“As soon as I started stopping, I heard the female passenger screaming ‘help me, help me,’” he says.

Newman says it was a horrific scene. Despite that, he and two people from Kitchener jumped into action. A couple was trapped in a car after it smashed into a rock cut.  As the flames spread quickly, Newman didn't think twice about rushing in to help.

“She had a severely broken right arm, lots of cuts and scrapes on her legs,” he says. “I assisted her up onto the shoulder and I asked her if there was anybody else in the vehicle and she said her husband was in the driver’s seat.”

Newman rushed back over to try to free the man.  He says it was nearly impossible.

“He was slumped over into the passenger’s seat, unconscious,” Newman says. He says he “tried to move him, couldn’t move him from there. His seatbelt was still on.”

So Newman says he started to flag down passing vehicles for help, and eventually the couple from Kitchener stopped.

Newman yelled at the Kitchener couple to call 911 and they were able to get the seatbelt undone and get the driver out.

Moments later flames quickly spread through the car as emergency responders arrived. The driver and passenger were rushed to hospital in Midland.  Police say the heroic actions by the three people driving by saved lives.

“The car was fully engulfed in flames shortly after that so they definitely saved his life,” says Southern Georgian Bay OPP Const. Marko Harjupanula.

But Newman sees it differently.

“I don't consider myself a hero, I just consider myself a Good Samaritan,” he says. “I'm just glad they're alive. I don't know how we would feel if we couldn't get them out.”

The OPP are still trying to determine what caused the crash. The female passenger has since been released from hospital. Her husband has been transferred to a Toronto hospital with serious injuries. He is expected to recover.

Southern Georgian Bay OPP is recommending all three Good Samaritans be recognized for their heroic efforts.