Hero worked on instinct during rescue

As he tried to pull the young woman from the car, flames started to come out of the engine.

By: Sara Peters
   During our childhood, we all become familiar with the idea of the humble hero.
   Police say Gary Kaczka could fit the mold of storybook hero.


Related Article:

Teen
escapes fiery crash

(Aug. 30, 2001)


   Mr. Kaczka, of Somerset, his 13-year-old son Ryan, his son’s friend Joseph Giorgianni, 13, and Rahway resident Monique Young all exhibited grace under pressure when they helped rescue a young woman from her wrecked car, just seconds before it was engulfed in flames.
   On Aug. 28, a car struck another at the intersection of Route 1 and Henderson Road, forcing it and the driver, 18-year-old Larisa Luca, into the median.
   According to Mr. Kaczka, Ms. Young witnessed the accident, and stayed to give her account to the police and to help however she could.
   Mr. Kaczka, Ryan and Joseph were about 10 cars behind the accident, but as they moved closer, Mr. Kaczka saw Ms. Luca struggling to get out and heard her calling for help.
   Mr. Kaczka got out of his vehicle, blocking traffic, and instructed the boys to direct traffic onto Henderson Road.
   "Nothing was going through my head," said Mr. Kaczka. "It was totally instinct."
   Mr. Kaczka borrowed a penknife from a passerby in order to slice Ms. Luca’s seat belt and remove her from the car. He describes the event as being only about 10 or 15 seconds long.
   As he tried to help, flames started to come out of the engine.
   "And that’s when she got nervous," said Mr. Kaczka. "She was saying, ‘I’m gonna die.’ When I actually got nervous was when I heard someone say ‘It’s gonna blow!’ I wasn’t really afraid of the fire, but I didn’t want an explosion."
   Eventually Mr. Kaczka succeeded in wresting Ms. Luca from her crunched, burning vehicle, and took her to the safety of the side of the road, where Ms. Young joined them to console the shocked young woman.
   Seconds later, the vehicle was engulfed in flames.
   "I’ve never seen anything take flame so fast," said Mr. Kaczka.
   Mr. Kaczka and the boys left the scene once the police arrived and they knew Ms. Luca was safe. "She said ‘Thank you for saving my life.’ "
   However, Mr. Kaczka was not seeking appreciation or praise. He said that he just acted on instinct, and that there was nothing else he could have done.
   "I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it," he said. "But the police said they had to have my name. And, the boys really helped out. I mean, they could have just stayed sitting in the car, but they had all of Route 1 blocked off. If it hadn’t been for the kids, you still wouldn’t even know my name."
   Since the accident, Mr. Kaczka has received gratitude from Ms. Luca’s friends and family, including a phone call from a friend of hers at 11 p.m. this Tuesday night.
   "I could understand the way her father feels," said Mr. Kaczka. "I just told him, Larisa had a guardian angel that day."