If Berryville Middle School teacher Dave Randall asks his students to write an essay next semester about what they did over the summer, it’s likely none of them will top Randall’s own story.

Randall and another Carroll County man — Camden Boardman of Eureka Springs — helped save the life of a tanker truck driver after an accident July 1 on Highway 23 South near the Madison County line. The accident occurred at ap

The accident occurred at approximately 4:08 p.m., when the truck’s load shifted, causing the trailer to overturn. The driver was pinned inside the cab as flames shot from the trailer and the air filled with thick, black smoke.

Bill Sadler, public information officer for the Arkansas State Police, said a final report on the accident has not been completed.

“Preliminarily the crash is believed to have occurred when a wheel of the northbound 2003 Peterbilt truck dropped-off the edge of the roadway, causing the driver to lose control of the truck pulling a tanker trailer carrying explosive cargo,” Sadler said.

“We were two vehicles behind,” said Randall, who lives in Green Forest and teaches special education at BMS. “He drifted a bit to the right and dropped a wheel off the pavement. When the liquid in the tanker overbalanced, it rolled the entire rig.”

Randall said he immediately stopped to help.

“The trailer caught fire almost immediately,” Randall said. “It took some time, but I got him out through a window — broke the driver’s side window. He finally got into a position where I could get his arm, and pull him out.

A gentleman by the name of Camden Boardman and two others came and helped carry him across the road.”

Boardman, a 2021 Eureka Springs High School graduate who is now a sophomore at the University of Arkansas, said he was driving home from a summer class when he came upon the accident.

“I didn’t see it happen exactly,” he said. “I was coming over the hill as soon as the smoke hit the tree line. We just pulled over and there were already two guys out there.”

Boardman, 19, said the rescuers used a fire extinguisher to try and keep the flames at bay while they first attempted to open the driver’s door.

“Nobody panicked or anything, which was surprising,” he said. “Normally in those situations, people kind of freeze up.”

An Eagle Scout, Boardman said the scout motto of “be prepared” didn’t necessarily apply in this situation.

“Nothing prepares you for something like that,” he said. “Obviously, first aid, treating burns and everything like that, but a lot of that got thrown out the window just because everything happened so fast and the main priority wasn’t treating burns, wasn’t making sure he was able to walk away or anything. As soon as we got him out, the main thing was just get him out and and then get ourselves out of the way. That was really it. But I think definitely being an Eagle Scout, at least helped me assess the situation. The first thing I said whenever I got there was, someone called 911. The guy said his wife had so I ran back to the wife, made sure she had called. I was just running back and forth trying to see what I could do because I didn’t want more people in the way.”

Boardman said he was well aware of the danger facing himself and the other rescuers.

“I was always taught don’t put yourself in danger, too,” he said. “But we just tried to move as fast as we could. And I was worried about everyone getting closer. But I knew that if we all just kind of hurried up with everything, we’d all be out of the way.”

Boardman said he didn’t know the driver’s name or what company he works for.

“I never got his name,” Boardman said. “Basically as soon as we got him out, we threw him into this box truck. … We never got a name or anything. We never saw what type of truck it was. I mean, obviously it was a fuel truck, but we never saw a label or anything.”

Sadler identified the driver as Ricky A. Kinion, 58, of Prairie Grove. Kinion received minor injuries and was transported to a hospital in Fayetteville, according to Sadler.

Boardman said he drove past the accident site a few days later.

“It just looks like something out of a Halloween movie,” he said. “Everything’s dead.”

But the driver is alive, thanks to the quick actions of Randall and Boardman.