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Quick-thinkers rescue man after head-on crash Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Officer Tom Ferris of the Medford Police Department was among emergency personnel working at a two-car collision Sunday afternoon on Crater Lake Highway between Skypark Drive and Whittle Avenue. One of the vehicles landed upside down and the other caught fire. By DAMIAN MANN Quick-thinking Samaritans rescued a man from his burning car Sunday afternoon after a head-on collision on Highway 62 blocked traffic for three hours in both directions and left two people in critical condition and one with minor injuries. Two men and one woman were taken to Providence Medford Medical Center after a 1990 gray Jeep Laredo and 1986 red Nissan 200 XS collided between Skypark Drive and Whittle Avenue. The Jeep, traveling east on Highway 62, flipped over with the driver, Tom Holtsclaw, and passenger, Judy Jones, both of Klamath Falls, inside. The Nissan, traveling west, burst into flames. The driver, Gregory Costilla, was unable to move because of multiple fractures to his leg. Witnesses who went to his rescue said he appeared to be in shock. Providence listed Costilla, 36, in critical condition, undergoing surgery Sunday night for multiple fractures. Police had no current address for Costilla. Jones, 26, was also listed in critical condition and was expected to undergo surgery for multiple fractures. Holtsclaw was treated and released. Workers at Butler Truck Center and Hubbard's Home Center, as well as passersby, rushed to the aid of the people in the vehicles. Butler salesman Ken Willden said, "I emptied three fire extinguishers into the car. Some people from Ace Hardware just kept bringing them over." Other passersby pulled the man from the twisted, burning wreckage of the Nissan. Willden said, "He was in shock. He didn't even see the fire." Another Butler salesman, Tim Vogelpohl, said "If this guy (Willden) didn't have a fire extinguisher, that guy (in the Nissan) would have been dead" Both salesmen were in the lot of the Butler Truck Center when they heard and saw the accident. "I looked over the top of the trucks in the lot and saw one of the cars flying through the air," said Vogelpohl. Willden said, "It was a horrendous accident." They estimated the jeep was some six to 10 feet in the air when it flipped over. Neither man knew how the accident occurred. By the time the Medford Fire Department arrived, they only needed to do some mop-up to make sure the flames were out. Medford police, who closed off about a half-mile of roadway, diverted traffic at Whittle Avenue, through the Lava Lanes parking lot and back onto the highway. The police sent a special accident reconstruction team out to determine how the accident occurred. Investigators at the scene found only minor skid marks. The speed limit on Highway 62 is 45 mph. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.