Driving back to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst from Philadelphia on the night of June 19, 2023, Sgt. Andrew Gomez could not help but notice black plumes of smoke in the woods adjacent to Interstate-295 in Mt. Laurel Township.
“I noticed smoke billowing from the woods and a car on fire,” Gomez said. “I saw no first responders on the scene and felt a calling to pull over and render aid.”
What Gomez saw when he got out of his car he would later describe as “nothing short of chaotic.”
A car had veered off the highway and smashed headlong into a tree. Gomez approached the burning car and saw the driver motionless behind the wheel. The driver did not respond to Gomez’s shouts. Nearby a woman who had crawled out of the car window lay on the ground.
“I ran towards her,” Gomez said of the woman on the ground, “picked her up and another bystander began to help me. The woman had sustained severe injuries, especially to her legs. We brought her to the edge of the highway, then moved her again in case the vehicle exploded.”
When emergency vehicles arrived, they extinguished the flames and began to attend to the two victims. The driver died at the scene. The woman found outside the care was taken to the hospital and survived.
Gomez believed the first responders arrived on the scene quickly, but he believes their arrival might have been too late to save the lady’s life had he not intervened.
“I don’t think the first responders could have reached her in time,” Gomez said.
Gomez was given the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his selfless actions, which is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the Department of the Navy.
“While I don’t see myself as a hero, I am happy to have been that for someone on what was probably the worst day of their life,” he said. “My mom taught me that life isn’t about us. She is passionate about being good to others, so I think some of that rubbed off on me.”
Since the incident, Gomez has maintained contact with the rescued passenger’s family, and he has been invited to their family cookouts and birthday celebrations.
“What Andrew did for me was more than heroic,” said the rescued passenger. “I’m beyond grateful for his actions on my behalf that night in the woods off the I-295. Without him, I most likely would not be here right now.”
Gomez is an aviation supply specialist with the Marine Aircraft Group-49, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and Marine Forces Reserve stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
“This remarkable act of bravery stands as a testament to the courage and selflessness that define the men and women serving in our Marine Corps,” Maj. Gen. John Kelliher III, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general, said.
“The valiant actions displayed by Sgt. Gomez unquestionably merits one of our highest honors, demonstrating that Marines and others like him can be called upon to respond in times of crisis.”
This story was written with the help of U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Matthew Porter.
