6 hometown heroes honored for saving man from burning truck

    CONCORD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WEWS) -- Concord Township Fire Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office recognized six hometown heroes on Wednesday for their bravery and quick response to stop and save Mario Talarico of Geneva during an I-90 vehicle crash involving a fire on March 12.

“I do believe that they were there for a reason because [for] everyone it was something different, like they were put together,” said Talarico.

Exactly three weeks have now passed since six people rescued Talarico and he said he’s still speechless.

“There’s no words. I think they were all put there for a reason. It’s like a team was put together at that time for a reason,” said Talarico.

While Talarico said he’s still recovering from his injuries, he said it’s an honor to stand with a team of people like Meredith Homerick, one of the hometown heroes recognized for saving Talarico’s life.

“We just happened to be at the right place at the right time, I guess. We were driving westbound, and he was driving eastbound, and we looked over to our left and we just saw this big fire ball coming at us,” said Homerick.

Homerick and Ralph Gamber, one of the six heroes, said they did not hesitate to pull over and help Talarico after he was ejected from his truck before it burst into flames.

“This guy was just flat on his tummy on the road, or not on the road, on the grass next to there, and that truck was burning. There was like a ring around the truck, you know, burning,” said Gamber.

Despite these scary circumstances, the brave individuals, along with Meggan Dwyer, who’s a nurse, continued to risk everything, even as the truck exploded another time.

“At that point, we kind of dispersed back to get to safety, and then we kind of came back over to him, and it was then that we decided we had to move him. It was too close to the truck with the explosions and stuff,” said Dwyer.

Eventually, Concord Township Fire Department responded, but they and Lake County Sheriff’s Office did not forget about Homerick, Gamber, Dwyer, Shaun Laubis, Janel Micksy and Jessica Presley. After doing some research to find these hometown heroes, the two agencies and Ohio State Highway Patrol welcomed Talarico and the group of five back on Wednesday.

“Thanks to the courageous and selfless efforts, a life was saved,” said Concord Township Fire Chief Matt Sabo.

Laubis could not attend because he lives in Columbus, but each person received recognition for their courage and quick response.

“They didn’t do this to look for attention, to get their name in the paper. They just did it because that’s what you do to help other people,” said Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno.

Officials hope these heroes’ bravery will serve as an example for others.