Two hero mums who ran towards a burning four-vehicle pile-up to rescue people have played down their courage as “human nature”.
Polish care workers Natalia Kowszyn and Weronika Dawgul, both 34, were on their way home from a shift when they saw the crash.
Despite the flames, they headed straight for the wreckage.
“There was not much time for thinking,” said mum-of-two Natalia. “We just ran and started pulling people out and got them as far away as we could.
“We feel that everyone would do the same in this situation. I don’t feel like a hero. It’s natural to want to help.”
Weronika, who is married with a five-year-old daughter, described the terrifying aftermath of the crash on the A915 Standing
Stane Road between Leven and Kirkcaldy Road in Fife.
She said: “Two people in a Ford Ka had broken legs and broken ribs and couldn’t move.
“The girl next to the driver was struggling to breathe and we know now she had internal bleeding.
“Most of the guys were in shock. It was really hard because most of them were much bigger than us.”
Weronika said it was human nature to want to help. She added: “It was, to us, obvious.”
The day after the crash last Friday, Weronika learned that people she helped to save were related to some of their friends.
“We started hearing, ‘Thank you, that was my nephew, that was my husband,’” she said.
The mums, former school friends who live in Kirkcaldy, praised a taxi driver for the major role he played in the rescue.
The brave cabbie, who asked not to be named, said: “I ran across and helped get three of the people out. I’m just glad everyone got out.”
“He was very helpful,” said Natalia. “It would have been easy to create chaos.”
Four men and one woman, all aged between 18 and 29, were taken to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. Some have since been released. Two other people suffered minor injuries.
