Daylan McLee thought for a minute it might have been a small earthquake until a relative came running inside to say there had been a car crash involving a police cruiser outside the apartment in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh.
UNIONTOWN, Pennsylvania — There was a boom, then the house shook. Daylan McLee thought for a minute it might have been a small earthquake until a relative came running inside to say there had been a car crash involving a police cruiser outside the apartment in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, about 45 miles south of Pittsburgh. McLee ran outside and pulled an officer from the mangled patrol car as flames began to spread into the cabin. Police officials and others have credited McLee with saving the officer’s life after the Sunday evening crash.»I don’t know what came across me, but I ripped the door open and just pulled him to safety across the street,» McLee said Monday. Protests over police brutality following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that have gripped the nation for weeks have laid bare tensions between police and the communities they serve, exposing grave mistrust by civilians, and frustration by law enforcement officers who say they are being painted with too broad a brush. But for McLee, the issue broke through the larger questions on race and policing; it was about saving a life. Uniontown Police Lt. Thomas Kolencik’s voice cracked as he told WTAE-Pittsburgh at the scene Sunday that the department was thankful McLee was nearby when the crash happened.»Daylan actually said, ‘I’m not going to let him die,'» Kolencik told the TV station. «There’s just no words to describe, you know.»Several of Officer Jay Hanley’s relatives had thanked McLee on social media Sunday and Monday, noting the officer was undergoing surgery after the crash for a serious leg injury. McLee said Hanley’s sister had called to thank him, along with a handful of officers and even the police chief. The 31-year-old said it wasn’t a complicated decision to help another human being.
