Paralyzed man rescued from burning car by stranger later tracks the hero woman down to thank her
Tammi Arrington saved the life of Dallas man Dennis Brown when she dragged the paralyzed man out of a car that caught fire
DALLAS,TEXAS: A brave woman saved the life of a Texas man who was paralyzed below the waist after she dragged him out of a car on fire. Later, the man, Dennis Brown, set out to find the unsung hero so he could properly thank her.
Tammi Arrington, who hails from Mississippi, was in Texas visiting a friend during the incident. She received accolades from Brown, who is from Dallas, for acting quickly when flames engulfed Brown's rental car early on Sunday, September 3.
She pulled Brown, 58, who uses a hand control device to drive, out of the burning car before it was completely destroyed by the fire.
'I wouldn't be here today if not for Tammi'
“It’s kind of dawning on me the kind of danger I was in, If it wasn’t for Tammi, I don’t know how I possibly would’ve gotten out or how close I would’ve got burned or wouldn’t be here today if not for Tammi,” Brown told The Post on Wednesday night, September 6.
After forgetting to ask for her name immediately following the terrifying experience, Brown was able to re-connect with her on Wednesday morning.
Arrington, 42, told to The Post on Wednesday night that when she noticed the burning car, she was simply in the right location at the right time.
She noticed that the car's front portion was on fire
That morning, she had decided to stay put in the new house that she had helped her friend move into, rather than accompany her to Costco.
When she peered out the window, she noticed that the front portion of Brown's car was on fire.
She thought it was empty until she hurried outside and noticed that all the doors were shut."I just happened to see his head move just a little bit from the headrest and then I realized there was someone in there," Arrington remarked.
She hurried to the car and unlocked the door while pleading with Brown to escape the fire. “She said, ‘Get out of the car,’” said Brown, who has been paralyzed since he was shot at 22. “I said, ‘I can’t, I’m in a wheelchair.’”
She initially reached for the wheelchair but quickly realized she didn't have time to assemble it. Arrington, who is just 5 feet 3 inches tall, claimed that she dragged Brown outside before assembling the wheelchair and putting him in it.
Before the local fire brigade put out the flames, the two retreated a great distance from the blazing automobile.
Brown claimed he never learned her name after his brush with death
Brown claimed that amid all the confusion, he never learned her name.
Even though Brown's family members later went to thank Arrington at the house she was visiting, they failed to learn her name either.
He claimed that by the time he attempted to stop by, no one was there and Arrington had left. "I didn't give a proper thank you," Brown admitted.
Brown consented to a Fox 4 interview in the hopes that the unidentified good Samaritan would learn about it. He told the station, “I’d like to appreciate her for her heroic act, She went into harm’s way to save me. Dragged me out. I’d like to thank her.”
Arrington's friend learned about the news item
When Arrington's friend learned about the news item, she contacted Fox 4, and the network put the two in touch. "The first thing I said was, ‘Tammi, this is Dennis, the guy in the wheelchair," Brown said, adding, "We started laughing, man, we just started laughing.”
The next time Arrington visits, Brown intends to take Arrington, her friend, and Brown's grateful mother, Julia, out to dinner.
But according to Arrington, she doesn't merit much, if any, praise for her valor. The first thing Arrington said was, "I'm glad he's OK," and later added, "Any human response — I think if they saw that, they would have done the same thing."
