O'FALLON, Mo. — It’s the video being shared to social media pages across the St. Louis area. It shows people at a St. Charles county gas station pulling a man out of his burning car, saving his life.
And the man in that car had no idea he was even in trouble.
Chris Behan knows the Mobil gas station on Bryan Road in O’Fallon pretty well. But he didn't mean to end up there Tuesday night.
“How I got in here and how I got to that parking spot by Wendy’s, I just, I don't get it,” Behan said, pointing across the gas station lot.
He was heading home along Interstate 70 when he said the lights went out.
“I was driving along just fine and I just, next thing I know I’m waking up in an ambulance. It just, it just shocks you.”
Behan's battled Type 1 Diabetes since he was 7 years old. He thinks his blood sugar dropped suddenly that night, causing him to basically pass out behind the wheel.
Janie Hill was at the gas station and watched the chaos that came after Behan somehow managed to park his car.
“You could see sparks coming up from under the car,” said Hill. “Some guy was banging on the window saying they couldn't get him out of the car. Another guy came up with a nightstick, busted the window out with an O'Fallon police officer and they were able to drag him out of the car.”
Behan knows he’s lucky to be alive.
“It's a huge thank you. And how do you really thank someone for doing that?” he asked.
And he wants others with his disease, even controlled cases, to learn from his experience.
“Take care of yourself. It can sneak up on you.”
Behan's car was parked right above the underground fuel tanks at the gas station. It turns out quick thinking may have helped avoid two disasters.
