PELL CITY — Without the help of an observant truck driver, Steve Cox says he probably wouldn’t be alive today.He lay bleeding inside his wrecked vehicle near the bottom of a steep ravine off U.S. 231 until Chres Sorensen of Pell City drove by and happened to notice lights in an area of thick woods where normally there were no lights.
"If he hadn’t seen me, I believe I would have laid there and bled to death," Cox said.
In the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 12, Cox fell asleep at the wheel of his car. The next thing he remembered was waking up to find that he was injured inside his wrecked vehicle, which was stopped by a tree down a steep embankment.
Cox, who lives in Pell City, said he suffered two fractures in his neck, a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a large gash across his forehead in the wreck.
"I’m very lucky to be alive," he said.
Cox tried to draw the attention of passing motorists by blowing his horn and screaming. It was no use, and Cox, 38, lay bleeding in the dark, unable to move because of his injuries.
"It felt like I sat there for about 45 minutes, hearing vehicles go by, wondering why no one would stop and help me," Cox said.
Sorensen, who owns and operates an 18-wheeler, said he was driving along U.S. 231 that morning when he caught a glimpse of lights glowing in the woods.
"I first thought it was a fire," Sorensen said.
He said he has driven U.S. 231 between Pell City and Ashville many times. He knew there should not be lights there because the area is all woods.
"I knew that light wasn’t supposed to be there," Sorensen said. "I was curious."
Something told him to stop his rig and investigate.
"I backed up to look," Sorensen said. "It looked like a fire, but I thought it could also be a car. I just wasn’t sure. … Something told me to back up and check."
Sorensen turned on his emergency lights, got out of his logging truck and investigated the light.
Sorensen eventually spotted Cox’s vehicle and said the only reason he saw the light from the road is that he was sitting higher off the road, because he was in a big truck.
"I didn’t think anybody was in it (the car)," Sorensen recalled.
He said there was no steam coming from the engine or the smell of antifreeze or battery acid in the air.
Sorensen said he thought the vehicle had been there a while and the driver just left and would return during the day.
That was until he shined his flashlight inside the car.
"I said, ‘O Lord,’" Sorensen said. "I think it surprised me as much as it surprised him. He didn’t want me to leave. I told him I wasn’t going to leave him."
Sorensen said Cox was unable to get out of his vehicle and was bleeding.
Sorensen knew he had to call for help, and he had left his truck in the middle of the road.
Sorensen said he momentarily went back up to the road so he could get service on his cell phone when another truck driver drove up.
"The other trucker called 911," he said.
Sorensen said he waited to give his statement to deputies and then went on to work.
Cox was transported to University Hospitals in Birmingham, where he remained for six days.
Since the accident, Cox and Sorensen have not met face-to-face but have spoken once on the telephone.
"This man deserves some type of recognition or an award for heroism because if he had not stopped, I could have bled to death," Cox said. "I am grateful for him stopping. I believe this man will be touched by God."
Sorensen said he was glad he could help, but he doesn’t consider himself a hero.
"No, it was just another day of work," Sorensen said.
He said this is not the first time something like this has happened in his travels.
"And it probably won’t be the last," Sorensen said. "I cover a lot of ground in a day’s time."
