VIDEO: Six years after the wreck that almost took the life of Larry Sprinkle, he was able to thank the firefighter who saved him on a special day for that firefighter.
On May 4, 2016, Sprinkle was driving on I-485 during the late afternoon rush, with traffic moving at a steady pace. Then, Sprinkle remembers traffic stopped abruptly. "Not seeing the brake lights, I slam into a large pickup truck," Sprinkle said. "The front of my car is totally demolished. People in the truck are OK... me, that's another story."
Sprinkle has said the moments after the crash were like a huge blur. "The dashboard was on my chest," Sprinkle said a year after the crash, recalling the details.
Firefighters from Ballantyne's Fire Station 32 were among the first responders who quickly arrived at the scene. One of those firefighters was Pete Baretsky.