1、Heroes: Roadside Inferno英雄：路边噩梦 By Jason Kersten 作者：约翰 .克斯滕The big rig was about to explode and the drivers legs were engulfed in flames. The Coopers came to the rescue.大卡车即将爆炸，司机双腿又被火所伤，千钧一发之时，库帕夫妇挺身相救。 Looks like a brush fire, Kim Cooper thought as she spotted an orange glow ahead on Interstate 75
2、. It was near dusk, and she and her husband, Steve, were trucking through northern Kentucky hauling auto parts from Louisville to Detroit for a freight company. Steve, 59, was fast asleep in the trucks living quarters as Kim, 52, drove up to the scene. Thats when she saw it was much worse than a bru
3、sh fire.金.库珀（Kim Cooper ）回忆说，当时已近黄昏，她和她的丈夫史蒂夫（Steve）开着一辆牵引货车，从肯塔基州北部的一家货运公司运送汽车零部件到路易斯维尔底特律，正行驶在75号州际公路上，前面有一个橙色发光体，看起来就像是发生了丛林火灾。59岁的史蒂夫那时正躺在卡车的生活层熟睡着，52岁的金开着车。她所见到的可是一场比丛林大火更为严重的事件。“Steve, wake up!“ she shouted. “Theres a truck on fire!“ A big rig had tumbled down an embankment, and flames were cr
4、awling across its cab. Kim yanked their truck to the side of the road, and Steve pulled on his clothes. Then he scrambled down the slope.“史蒂夫，快醒醒！” 她尖叫道， “有一辆大卡车着火了！”。一辆大卡车已经冲出了路堤，火焰正在向驾驶室蔓延。金猛踩刹车，将他们的卡车停到公路旁，史蒂夫披上衣服就向斜坡飞奔过去。Inside the burning truck, Ronnie Sanders, 38, was fighting for his life. He
5、d been running a heavy load of tractors and forklifts from Georgia to Indianapolis when a Grand Caravan in front of him stopped suddenly in traffic on the icy road. As Ronnie bore down, he could see children in the backseat. The trucks bulk would probably protect him from the worst of the impact, bu
6、t the momentum of 23 tons would likely crush everyone inside the van.燃烧的卡车内，38岁的罗尼.桑德斯（Ronnie Sanders ）正在奋力挣扎。他正将一车的拖拉机和铲车从格鲁吉亚运送到印第安纳波利斯，他面前的一辆道奇（Grand Caravan ）车在结冰的道路上突然熄火停了下来。罗尼紧急刹车，他几乎可以看到前车后座的儿童。若追尾撞上，前车的货舱应该可以使他免受最严重的伤害，但以他这辆23吨大块头的惯性，可能会压碎前面面包车内的每一个人。“In Kentucky, the hills are steep, but at
7、 that moment, I didnt think about it,“ he says of that evening last November. “I figured instead of killing other people, Id just put the truck in the ditch.“ He jerked the wheel to the right, somehow keeping the truck upright as it plowed 60 feet down the embankment. At the bottom, rocks pierced a
8、fuel tank, which ignited. A tree branch smashed through the windshield and knocked Ronnie unconscious. He came to a couple of minutes later to find the cab in flames and his legs on fire.“在肯塔基州，山路很是陡峭的，但在那一刻，我没想那么多了， ”会想起去年11月的那天晚上，他说， “我不能伤害其他人，于是我就想把车转向路边的沟里。 ”他向右猛打方向盘，尽量拉直车身，车子滑行了60英尺左右，冲出了路堤。岩石划
9、破了车底部的一个油箱，并引起了大火。树枝击穿了挡风玻璃，将罗尼撞昏过去。几分钟后他醒来，发现驾驶舱已经着火，并且已烧到了他的腿。Ronnie yelled for help as he struggled to escape. But the cab was smashed in, and try as he might, he couldnt untangle himself from his seat belt.罗尼大声呼助，挣扎着想逃离现场。但是，驾驶舱已被撞变形，他努力挣扎，但依然无法解开安全带。As Steve bolted down the slope, he could hear
10、 Ronnies cries ahead. Then a thundering sound erupted behind him.史蒂夫向坡下急奔，他听得见前面罗尼的呼救声。这时，他身后传来一阵震耳欲聋的撞击声。A Ford Taurus, which had lost control in the melee above, had skidded off the highway and was now barreling down the slope directly at him. With no time to dive out of the way, he leaped upward
11、and sailed over the cars hood.一辆福特金牛座（Ford Taurus）轿车在事故现场失去控制，滑出了公路，顺着斜坡直直地向他冲了过来。想倒地躲过去已没有时间了，他一跃而起，扑到了汽车的引擎盖上。The Taurus came to a halt close to the truck. Kim was already scrambling toward the car. Its passengers appeared shaken but unharmed as she helped maneuver the car away from the burning tr
12、uck. Meanwhile, Steve dashed to Ronnie, who was dangling headfirst from the passenger door. Ronnie had used his pocketknife to cut himself free from the drivers-side seat belt only to get his boot ensnared in another one. Steve climbed into the burning cab to free him.金牛座车在卡车旁边停了下来。金已经向汽车跑来了。车上的乘客惊慌
13、失措，还好没有受到伤害，她指挥该车开离了燃烧的卡车。与此同时，史蒂夫冲向罗尼，他的头垂挂在副驾驶舱门前。罗尼已用他的折叠刀割开了驾驶员座位的安全带，但仅只摆脱一只脚。史蒂夫爬上驾驶舱来救他。“All that was going through my mind was, My God, I do not want to be here,“ Steve recalls. “It was so hot, I could hardly stand it.“我只记得当时我想：上帝，我真不想呆在这里， ”史蒂夫回忆说。 “真是太烫了，我几乎受不了了。 ”He tried three times to p
14、ull Ronnie out before finally freeing him. But Ronnies legs were still burning, so Steve laid him on the ground, ripped off his own shirt, and beat the flames with it. Hed managed to drag him about 20 yards when one of the trucks 150-gallon fuel tanks exploded.他试了三次，终于将罗尼救了出来。但罗尼的腿仍在燃烧，于是史蒂夫将他躺在地上，撕
15、下自己的衬衫，扑灭了火焰。他设法拖着他走了20码左右时，卡车的一个150加仑的油箱爆炸了。“It was like a cannon blast,“ says Steve. “The percussive force hurt my chest. It just picked me up and blew me back.“ Fortunately, the explosion was aimed skyward.“这就像一门大炮爆炸， ”史蒂夫说， “爆炸的冲击力伤害到了我的胸部。它把我掀了起来，又把我拉了回来。 ”幸运的是，爆炸的冲击力主要是向着天空了。Steve got up and p
16、eeled off what was left of Ronnies smoldering jeans and held his hand while they waited for the ambulance, as Kim raced up and down the slope, grabbing wet towels and a blanket.史蒂夫爬了起来，脱去罗尼冒烟的牛仔裤，握着他的手，等待救护车的到来，金则在斜坡上下来回跑，拿来了湿毛巾和毯子。Both Steve and Ronnie paid a price for risking their lives for stran
17、gers. Ronnie spent two months in the hospital and received skin grafts on both of his legs. He now wears compression garments for his scars and gets physical therapy twice a week. “If Steve hadnt done what he did, I probably would have been toast,“ he says. Steve suffered smoke inhalation and minor
18、burns, and shrapnel from the explosion broke a tooth.罗尼和史蒂夫都因为救他人的生命而付出了代价。罗尼住院住了两个月，双腿都接受了植皮。现在，因为伤疤，他穿着具压缩作用的衣服，每周得理疗两次。他说：“如果没有史蒂夫来救我，我可能会被烤成面包了”。史蒂夫也遭受吸入浓烟和轻微烧伤，并且，爆炸产生的碎片打破了他的一颗牙齿。In February, the Coopers received a Hero of the Highway award from the Open Road Foundation for rescuing an injured
19、 driver. Steve insists Ronnie is the real hero: “If he hadnt gone into the ditch, he would have hit that van. It was his decision to drive off the road.“2月份，库帕夫妇因为抢救受伤司机，被“开放公路基金会”授予“高速公路英雄”奖章一枚。史蒂夫认为罗尼才是真正的英雄：“如果他没有将车开到沟里去，他就会撞上皮卡车。是他决定开离公路的。 ”“I feel pretty good about it,“ says Ronnie. “A lot of people could have been hurt.“我对此感觉非常棒， ”罗尼说， “否则，可能会有更多的人受到伤害。 ”
