Miramar Marine honored for rescuing driver

Jan. 27--* Marine Staff Sgt. Hai Vuong was honored Friday by insurance company Liberty Mutual for saving the life of a semi-trailer driver who was trapped after a collision with another truck.

* The staff sergeant also has been nominated for the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the services' highest non-combat decoration for heroism.

* Vuong shrugged off the limelight, crediting adrenaline and his Marine Corps combat training with his quick actions on Nov. 13 while driving home from Las Vegas.

With the overturned semi leaking diesel fuel and the bleeding driver trapped inside, Staff Sgt. Hai Vuong rushed to the cab and used his Marine martial arts training to smash the window and save him.

During a Friday outdoor ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, insurance giant Liberty Mutual presented the 32-year-old imagery analyst its Lifesaver Award for rescuing the United Parcel Service truck driver on Nov. 13 along a barren stretch of Interstate 15 between the Nevada border and Barstow.

Maj. Gen. Mark "Notso" Wise, commander of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, said that Vuong also has been nominated for the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the services' highest non-combat decoration for heroism.

"I think that this is spectacular," Wise said after the event. "It's something we're very proud of as Marines."

Returning to Miramar after competing in a Las Vegas mini-marathon, Vuong witnessed another rig clip the semitrailer. Pulling over about 200 feet away into the dark desert, he and his brother-in-law, Simon Almeida, ran to the jackknifed truck.

Balancing on Almeida's shoulder, Vuong kicked and pried out the windshield, turned off the engine before the fuel ignited and then yanked the driver free, applying first aid and keeping him awake until first responders arrived.

"I didn't want the truck to explode or anything," Vuong said after the ceremony.

Presenting Vuong with a crystal trophy, Liberty Mutual executive David J. Ware said he was glad he made the trip from Texas to honor the Marine.

"We've been presenting this award since 1922 to recognize non-emergency management personnel for heroism like that of Staff Sgt. Vuong," he said.

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan who enlisted 11 years ago from his hometown of Westminster, Orange County, Vuong shrugged off the limelight and credited adrenaline and his Marine combat training for rescuing the unnamed driver.

"The good thing was that he was OK and that he made it out and he could have Thanksgiving and Christmas with his family," said Vuong, adding that any of his fellow Marines would've done the same thing if they had seen the crash.

Flanked by his wife Yenny and 1-year-old daughter Annie, Vuong said the didn't "associate myself with the word 'hero'" but likes serving as a role model for his junior Marines.

"If staff sergeant can do it, everyone can do it," he said.

cprine@sduniontribune.com

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