Modest hero saved driver from cliff-hanging vehicle
A US man who initially declined to identify himself after pulling a driver to safety from a vehicle teetering on the edge of a cliff has been lauded by authorities as a shy hero.
Police in the north-central Idaho city of Lewiston said 29-year-old Jason Warnock pulled driver Mathew Sitko, 23, from his GMC Yukon where it hung precariously on the cliff face on Wednesday after careening over bushes and through a yard.
Authorities credited Warnock with saving Sitko's life after an accident they said might have been triggered by "some type of mental episode."
Warnock was driving up the canyon when he noticed debris in the road and spotted the sport utility vehicle tangled in a chain-link fence that stopped it from immediately plunging down the steep mountain, Lewiston Police Chief Roger Lanier said in a statement.
Warnock leaped from his vehicle and hammered at the Yukon's passenger-side window in an unsuccessful attempt to break it, Lanier said.
"At that time, he was able to calm Sitko enough to have him roll down the window so he (Warnock) could pull him to safety," the police chief said.
Warnock did not give his name to Lewiston police officers who arrived on the scene, and instead drove off to work, triggering a search by authorities for the reluctant hero.
He was pictured in images of the crash and dramatic rescue that appeared in the local newspaper and prompted one caller to give his name to police.
"He (Warnock) said he was trying to avoid attention," Lanier said, praising him for his quick, decisive action to save Sitko, who was treated for minor injuries at a hospital.
Morning news break – April 17
