GOLDEN — Two state troopers who saved a man’s life after a fiery crash were recognized today by the patrol and the doctor they saved.
Cpl. Timothy McClinchy and Trooper Randy Orton came upon an SUV in August that had been rear-ended by a semi-truck that had been going 60 mph.
The impact of the crash on Interstate 70 in Aurora trapped 34-year-old Jason Rhodes in the vehicle, which had caught fire and continued to burn because of a fuel leak.
McClinchy and Orton risked their own lives, going through 15 portable fire extinguishers to keep the flames, as much as possible, off Rhodes.
The troopers each used the extinguisher they have in their cruisers, and when they were exhausted, they took extinguishers from truck drivers who were stopped on the highway.
They stayed with Rhodes until firefighters arrived, and then continued aid at his side until he was free of the wreckage.
“It was the longest five minutes of my life,” McClinchy recalled at an award ceremony in Golden.
The troopers, who are credited with remaining calm and level-headed throughout the rescue, said the moment, although frightening, is the reason they and their colleagues get into law enforcement.
“You can go through an entire career and not go through anything like this,” Orton said.
Col. Mark Trostel, chief of the patrol, said the pair join an elite group of troopers — those recognized with a “life-saving award” — who’ve made “lots of sacrifices, lots of risk taken.”
Trostel presented the awards to McClinchy and Orton in one of his last official acts as chief. He retires Friday and will be succeeded by Lt. Col. Jim Wolfinbarger.
Both troopers received big hugs and slaps on the back from Rhodes, who attended with family and friends.
The doctor and the troopers have become friends.
In the crash and fire, Rhodes received third-degree burns on about 17 percent of his body, including his right arm. He is an orthopedic surgeon at Children’s Hospital.
Without the troopers, his fate could have been much worse.
“If they hadn’t kept focusing on me, I would have burned to death,” Rhodes said. “They went far above and beyond everything that could be expected.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
