Mystery Hero Who Saved Driver From Car Hanging Off Idaho Cliff Revealed
— -- The mystery hero who saved a 23-year-old driver from his car hanging off a canyon cliff in Lewiston, Idaho, has been identified as Jason Warnock, police said.
The good Samaritan was photographed pulling the driver, Mathew Sitko, from the window of his 2000 GMC Yukon dangling off a 30-foot drop above Bryden Canyon Road with only a chain-link fence stopping it from falling, according to a Lewiston Police Department news release.
Warnock, 29, hung out at the scene until the cops arrived, and when they did, he told them he had to go back to work and "left before they could figure out who I was," he told ABC News today.
"I didn’t feel like I deserved any credit or anything," Warnock said. "I just did what anyone would do, so I went right back to work and got out of there."
Warnock was traveling along Bryden Canyon Road for work when he noticed Sitko's Yukon hanging off the cliff, he said.
He then climbed up to get to the vehicle and tried to break the window with a multi-tool, he said.
"After I struck it with my multi-tool, [the car] rocked substantially each time, and that’s when I knew this wasn’t a good idea," Warnock said. "My heart was going as in any abnormal, unnatural situation."
Warnock then got Sitko to roll down the window, he said, adding Sitko wanted to save his iPod first.
"He threw me his iPod, gave me his hand, and I gave him a tug," Warnock said.
Though Warnock left the scene without giving his name to officers, they were able to track him down today after a photo of the rescue went viral.
The police department said it "would like to thank Jason Warnock for his quick and decisive actions in helping Mr. Sitko and preventing the situation from worsening."
Sitko’s vehicle had struck several shrubs and a tree before going off the road and resting on the edge of a cliff, police said.
Further investigation “showed some type of mental episode may have been responsible for the collision,” police added. “No other persons were involved or injured.”
Sitko suffered only minor injuries, police said.
