Dylan Bennett thought he knew who saved his life. Then he got a visit at his hospital bed, and learned that his rescuers were complete strangers.
Bennett is the 20-year-old Prince Albert man who was left in a burning house after getting stabbed on Monday morning. He was rushed to hospital and is now on the path to recovery. Initially, the fire department reported that a neighbour pulled him away from the blaze. But the real story, it turns out, is a case of right place, right time.
That morning, Derrick Boyer went to meet his girlfriend, Emily Bird. The couple ended up walking along 18 Street West, when they heard a “commotion.”
“We went back and checked it out,” Boyer said. “We see this guy running out of the house.”
Boyer said they saw flames start shooting up. He said he went to the front of the house and started banging on the door. He noticed it was unlocked, and went inside. He saw Bennett covered in fresh blood.
“The couch was already engulfed,” he said. “The guy was lying on the ground. I grabbed him and dragged him out.”
Bird helped him pull Bennett out to safety, he recalled. Boyer said he called the fire department. It took two minutes, he remembered, before the house was up in flames.
“That guy who ran out probably left him for dead,” Boyer said. “It’s crazy.”
Boyer said he wasn’t particularly scared by the experience. His only worry was that someone might still be inside.
“It was intense,” he said. “I was yelling at the top of my lungs too, because it was the morning and I thought other people would be sleeping. I just wanted to get everyone out of the house.”
Bennett finally met the couple on Wednesday morning, when they dropped in to visit them in the hospital room. He said hearing the story first hand was a “wake-up call.”
“He encouraged me on my path of not drinking,” Bennett said. “(We) talked about how God has a plan for me.”
Only three days after the attack, which left him with four stab wounds, Bennet said he’s already able to get up and walk around.
“I got a chest tube pulled out,” he said. “I’m getting out of bed on my own now.”
Boyer said it feels good to save a life. He’s glad he met his girlfriend and walked along that West Flat street, so early Monday morning.
“He was lucky we were there,” he said.
