North Vernon Mayor Mike Ochs and Police Chief James Webster are honoring five people for their actions saving a life.

On the morning of Feb. 27, there was a crash at State Road 7 and County Road 750 involving a vehicle and a semi. Chief Webster says that the vehicle ended up wedged under the semi’s trailer. A fire then broke out in the engine compartment.

Due to the severity of the crash and the driver’s injuries, he was unable to get out of the wreckage. As the fire continued, Webster says that a group of people leapt into action, working together to hinder the flames and rescue the man while police and firefighters were still en route. Webster says that without their help, the driver would have been consumed by the fire.

James Swartz, Nicholas Earl, Jeff Dettmer, Dan Rennekamp and Joey Howard were honored with certificates of appreciation from the city at last night’s City Council meeting Webster noted that the last time civilians were honored in this way was in 2012.