Second good Samaritan identified in truck fire incident

Bob and Pamela Maxwell were rescued from their burning truck on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21, 2016. This picture was taken by Adam Brunk of Holts Summit shortly after he and another witness, Jacob Ellis, extricated the couple.
Bob and Pamela Maxwell were rescued from their burning truck on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 21, 2016. This picture was taken by Adam Brunk of Holts Summit shortly after he and another witness, Jacob Ellis, extricated the couple.

While a Westminster College student played a role in rescuing a couple from a burning truck Aug. 21, Bob Maxwell, one of those rescued, said Friday there was another hero.

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Springdale Police Department

A suspect in a Springdale burglary.

"His name was Adam Brunk," Maxwell said while waiting for a doctor's appointment. "Adam was jerking on my door and trying to get me out, but I could tell my wife was having chest pains. I told him to go around and get her out."

Brunk, 30, said he took note of the 2005 Ford driven by 20-year-old Jake A. Kyllonen, of Wheaton, Illinois, as it attempted to pass him near the site of the accident, near the routes J and F intersection west of Fulton.

"That car had tried passing me a few times," Brunk said. "I came into the turn (onto Route J) and he tried to pass - it's an uphill, blind turn."

Brunk confirmed what a crash report filed Aug. 21 by the Missouri Highway Patrol said: Kyllonen's vehicle struck a truck driven by Maxwell, 52, whose wife, Pamela, 60, was a passenger. A third vehicle following the Maxwells' truck, a Ford Focus driven by Leah E. Jex, 39, of Columbia, also was involved.

As soon as the accident occurred, Brunk said he parked.

"I pulled over on J," he said. "I had a sprained ankle, but I got over there as soon as I could. I noticed the front end of Bob's truck was on fire."

Jacob Ellis, a senior at Westminster College, also came to assist. He had just had surgery on his hand.

Brunk said when Maxwell asked them to look after his wife, he noted signs she was having heart issues. His own mother, he added, died unexpectedly in March of a heart attack.

"So I have some experience there," he said. "I had both my hands on the sides of her head and told her to look at me and focus on what was going on."

Brunk said she was extracted from the car and put into the car of a woman at the scene, and then he went back for her husband, who was pinned in the vehicle, which was on fire.

"He only had one arm," Brunk said of Ellis. "So I jumped into the truck and wrapped my arms around (Bob's) waist and jerked him out."

At that point the truck was smoking and burning in earnest, he added.

"Smoke was rolling up under the floorboards, and I grabbed the keys out of the ignition in case there was a house key on there, and at that point the tires were exploding," Brunk said. "A Millersburg volunteer firefighter also witnessed the accident."

Law officials arrived on the scene in about five minutes, and Brunk said he grabbed his cellphone to take some pictures. He also got a medical kit and cut Bob Maxwell's pants up to the knee to check for injuries.

"I grew up in Florida and in school, we had CPR and first aid," he said. "I've been around quite a few accidents - there was a flipped car where I pulled someone out, and a motorcyclist who had gone head over head."

Kyllonen was brought by the Highway Patrol into the Callaway County Jail and booked on counts of second degree vehicular assault and minor - visibly intoxicated, according to Lt. Clay Chism. Kyllonen was given a bond of $9,000, which he paid and was released. A 9 a.m. Sept. 23 court appearance was scheduled.

Brunk works for Central Missouri Vault Co. in Holts Summit. He said the experience reminded him of his mother.

"I don't look at it like I was a hero," he said. "I've been in a lot of hairy situations. I wasn't able to save my mom, but I was able to save her (Pat Maxwell). I'm glad that they're OK."

Bob Maxwell said his wife is home now, and while they both are in pain, they are grateful for their lives.

"I had never met either of them before," Maxwell said of Brunk and Ellis. "I done told them both I appreciated what they did, and we're thankful for them being our angels. Thank God they were there."