Woman Who Pulled Man From Burning Truck After I-65 Crash Meets His Family: ‘He Was Asking for Help’
Jazemine Banks stopped to help after a truck hit a tree on the I-65 exit at Government Boulevard. One week later, she met Jerry Partsch's wife and cousin, and the two families are planning Thanksgiving dinner.
MOBILE, Ala. — When Jazemine Banks saw flames coming from a crashed truck and heard a man screaming for help, she did not stop to think it over.
“I just threw it into park and took off running,” Banks said.
On Monday, just a week after the crash, Banks met the family of the man she helped save, and they are already planning to spend Thanksgiving together.
A crash at the I-65 exit
The crash happened on the night of Oct. 25. According to Mobile police, Jerry Partsch lost control while exiting southbound Interstate 65 at Government Boulevard and hit a tree. Two drivers stopped to help, and Banks was one of them.
She recalled that something had pinned his leg.
“Something was stuck on his leg,” Banks said. “And I don’t know if he fell or did I pull him. But we were on the ground rolling. And that’s when everything was put out and the battery exploded.”
Partsch has undergone several surgeries at USA Health University Hospital as he recovers from severe burns.
A family’s gratitude
Banks met Partsch’s wife, May, and his cousin, Michelle Tehan, for the first time on Monday. She has not yet met Jerry, but his family says the connection is already there.
“I don’t know how I will ever repay you,” May Partsch told her.
“Oh, I feel like we’ve known you forever,” Tehan said.
Asked why she sprang into action, Banks gave a simple answer: “He was asking for help.”
The family made clear that the debt runs both ways.
“Girl, if you catch on fire, we’re coming,” Tehan said.
