A Stranger Named Paul Used His Car to Save Lives on I-5 in Tacoma

A man noticed another driver in a medical emergency on southbound I-5 near 56th Street, and used bravery and quick thinking to help avoid a deadly multi-car pileup.

When most witness an erratic car on the freeway, they back off, change lanes, and call 911, and that would be a reasonable response, but not Paul.

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Washington State Patrol Trooper Kameron Watts posted the story Tuesday morning, and the details are worth telling properly.

A Man Named Paul Stopped an Incapacitated Driver on I-5 Yesterday with His Car

A driver on southbound I-5 experienced a medical emergency while driving, one of the most dangerous situations imaginable. With the driver incapacitated, the vehicle is moving at highway speed with nobody in control. It could have drifted into other lanes, hit vehicles, and created a chain reaction of crashes in seconds.

Paul saw what was happening and made a split-second decision to use his own vehicle and physically push the out-of-control car over to the left shoulder barricade to stop it.

The photo attached to the post from the Washington State Patrol shows the immediate aftermath. Two white SUVs, dust still visible from the impact, with one vehicle clearly having steered into the other, pushing it against the concrete divider on the shoulder.

Paul's vehicle took damage, but the barrier held, and nobody else in traffic was hit.

The Risk Paul Took to Save Lives on I-5 Yesterday

Let's be clear, Paul deliberately drove his personal vehicle into another moving car on a busy interstate to save lives, including the life of the driver he stopped. That was an instant calculation that a lot of people might not have taken.

Trooper Watts said it simply: if it were not for Paul, this could have ended much worse, but I think that is an understatement.

Paul, whatever your last name is, thank you. Thank you very much.