North Royalton — It was a fiery crash that looked like the kind of accident you might need a miracle to survive.
A humble North Royalton dad and a handful of others may have been that miracle.
On Monday at about 4 p.m., off-duty Wickliffe firefighter J.P. Michalak, drove up on smoke and flames after 2 semis collided on I-271 south near Harvard.
One truck driver was still stuck in the cab, filling up with smoke.
J.P. pulled over and jumped out. It was a split second decision when seconds counted.
"He was obviously trapped and not able to free himself. So, I broke out the front window, got the seatbelt off and got his feet untangled. At that point I was starting to feel a little bit of heat. Smoke is coming in the cab. I didn't care how I got him out. I just knew I had to get him out at that point," said Michalak.
His 18-year-old son, Brent Michalak, was in the car with J.P. when he stopped to help.
Brent took out his cell phone and recorded and narrated as it all unfolded, saying “Dad pulled him out 20 seconds before these flames started going! You are a hero dad. He could have died."
But the truck driver instead went to the hospital with what Michalak believes were non-life threatening injuries.
J.P. Michalak has been saving strangers for 25 years as a firefighter..
Brent says his dad is always humble.
“He would just say it's another day on the job."
But even off duty, Michalak was in the right place at the right time.
"We weren't even supposed to be going that route. I was taking Brent back to CSU and I had to stop and get gas, so we GPSed it and it kind of took us in a roundabout way. I do believe in divine intervention," J.P. says.
After the fact, Brent will proudly say this about his dad even if JP won't, "He’s a hero. It’s as simple as that."