CHESAPEAKE, Va. — 82-year-old Wayne McClain is thanking the Chesapeake neighbors who he says saved his life after his SUV crashed into Indian Creek last week.
McClain was driving his silver Tahoe home to Pungo from his fiance's house in the Outer Banks last week when he veered off Indian Creek Road. He does not know what caused his vehicle to leave the roadway.
"The tire slipped off, but next thing you know I heard crank, crank, crank, I looked up and I was going through the guy’s fence. And I was trying to maintain control, and next thing I was in the water," McClain said.
Chris Kenney, a Chesapeake neighbor and former firefighter, was driving home from dinner with his two children when he saw the crash happen directly in front of him.
"The vehicle, it was a silver Tahoe that was directly in front of me, for no reason that I could see, just went off the right side of the road," Kenney said. "It then struck the ditch on the right side, went airborne, and flew probably somewhere between 15 and 20 yards, and then crashed unfortunately through the neighbor's fence here and then went into the water behind me."
Kenney pulled over immediately and saw the SUV floating down the waterway. The rescue was already underway by the time first responders arrived at the scene.
"So I went over to the back seat, and I was in the back seat and trying to kick the windows out. Then I started panicking a little bit because I’m going ‘You know, I’m not gonna get out of here.’ And thank goodness that’s when Chris said, he said he saw me kind of, panicking," McClain said.
"He had shifted from the front seat into the back seat because the water filled up the front of the vehicle and he started banging on the glass and he was in a panic — and it was at that point I decided I had to go in," Kenney said.
Knowing the vehicle would soon sink, Kenney yelled to a nearby neighbor who had come outside after hearing the crash. The neighbor retrieved a hatchet for Kenney to use to break the glass.
Kenney used the hatchet to break the windows, jumped into the water and successfully pulled McClain out of the water. Just minutes after the rescue, McClain's SUV became fully submerged under water.
The nearby neighbor also brought towels and blankets to help keep McClain warm once he was safely on the shoreline.
McClain was taken to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. He said he did not get any major injuries, and walked away with just a couple of bruises. McClain says his car is totaled after the accident.
"The Lord is definitely looking out for me. To have a firefighter riding behind me, a lady has a hatchet. It’s just too much to deny," McClain said. "This man saved my life."
Kenney echoed McClain, saying divine intervention stepped in.
"The Lord put me in the right place at the right time," Kenney said.
Kenney credited the neighbor for her crucial role in the rescue, calling it a community effort.
"By her providing me that hatchet, that was instrumental in me being able to do what I did, and so I believe a lot of the credit does go to her," Kenney said.
Kenney said he wanted to show his kids, who were in the car, how important it is to try to leave a positive impact everyone—even strangers.
"The world is a very negative place right now," Kenney said. "And I just wanted to bring light to the fact that if we continue to keep positivity in our lives and work to improve in ourselves, that we can make positive change at a time where you never know it’s gonna happen."
McClain said he is glad to be alive and make it home safely to his family.
"Means a lot to me. Means a lot to me. And especially thankful for a man there and glad to be alive with my family," McClain said.
McClain is grateful to be alive to meet his first great-grandchild soon.
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