PONCHATOULA, La. (WGNO) — Almost a week after the deadly Interstate 55 pileup in St. John the Baptist Parish, a woman is reunited with a man she says saved her life that day.
“There were no emergency people there. There were no police officers there. He’s the one that made me safe,” says I-55 crash victim Mary Jane Fink.
Fink is still reliving the tragic pileup on I-55 that took seven lives and almost hers as she recalls being trapped inside her car.
“There were fluids. You could smell things. You heard things exploding. You could see flames way up but couldn’t actually see what was going on with it,” says Fink.
But thankfully, a man she calls her angel was there to pull her out.
“I started screaming and this young man, he heard my cry, and he came there. Bravest I don’t know how he did it. Cars were still crushing when he rescued me. They were still hitting us, but he got me and saved us,” says Fink.
“I was just like I can’t sit here and listen to this happen,” says Josiah Tromatore.
Tromatore immediately jumped into action, and Fink is one of many he rushed to rescue.
“I definitely thank God for that. I think he definitely had me there for a reason. Being able to comfort people and help people. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else as terrible as it was,” says Tromatore.
“I saw this young man not once but many times go back and forward and back and forward. I don’t know how many people he rescued,” says Fink.
Fink said she continues to relive the images but then is reminded of her guardian angel.
“I go to sleep, and I wake up screaming about it, but the one thing that makes me smile is the love this young man did. I can’t that makes it better,” says Fink.
As time passes, he continues to check on her, wanting to make sure she makes a full recovery.
“I knew it had a big impact on her, especially when I checked up on her after I said I’d come back and giving her my number and everything. I wanted to know how she was doing because I know when I went to check up on her again her hip was hurting and her knee and hand,” says Tromatore.
“A hero to the world because at his age you don’t see that anymore. It’s a blessing to have such a great young man like that,” says Fink.
Along with Tromatore, Fink also thanks those from her job at Tulane University and her family for continuing to check up on her.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.
