Mom dies in fiery Kansas crash as former combat medic saves her three children

A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper credits Sean James with saving three children from a fiery crash that killed their mother.

James called it destiny that he was there at the right time.

The 47-year-old commutes from Dallas to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he works as an engineer in the oil and gas industry.

He first saw Sacha McNack driving as he passed by her hometown of Oklahoma City. They passed each other multiple times as they both drove north on the highway. He stopped twice, but somehow ended up near the 31-year-old, driving a Cadillac SRX SUV, around noon Monday more than 200 miles from where he first saw her.

James was looking in his rear view mirror when he saw McNack veer off the highway, down a hill and into a clump of trees. Both vehicles had been headed north on I-335, just north of Emporia. The cause of the accident is unknown, KHP said.

James, a former medic in the United States Navy, veered his Ford Bronco to the shoulder and reversed down the highway. He grabbed his trauma kit and ran down the hill and up to McNack’s window.

He banged on her window and told her to unlock the doors. She said she was trapped and there was a fire. He told her it was the airbags, which smoke when they go off. She told him she could see the flames. She told him her children were inside. Then a back door on the SUV popped open.

He carried a 6-year-old girl from the SUV and put her in a patch of grass away from the vehicle. Within seconds of returning, the flames had grown.

“It was really, really hot and really smoky,” he said.

McNack asked him to help her.

“I held her hand and I said, ‘I promise I will be back to help you when I get these babies out of the car,’” he said.

He removed a 2-year-old boy from his car seat behind his mother and carried him to safety next to his sister. He then got an 8-year-old boy from the “back, back” seat and carried him to safety.

He went back for their mother, but the fire was too big. He went to the highway and waved down a semi-truck since he knew they had fire extinguishers. But the fire extinguishers were ineffective.

Even if there weren’t flames, he’s unsure he would have been able to free Sacha McNack. She was trapped, he said.

“I’m a combat vet and nothing’s ever bothered me like this has,” he said.

James used a bandage from his trauma kit to cover a wound on the 8-year-old’s head. The boy was flown to Children’s Mercy Kansas City. The 6-year-old was flown to Wesley Medical Center. Both had critical injuries, according to KHP Capt. John Lehnherr.

The 2-year-old, who had serious but non-life-threatening injuries, was taken to Newman Regional Health, likely by vehicle. Lehnherr said Tuesday they were all expected to survive thanks to James.

“I would say his actions are nothing short of heroic,” Lehnherr said. “No doubt about it, he saved three kids’ lives yesterday.”

About how he was able to stop twice and still end nearby to help the children, James said: “It was destiny that I be there.”

People on Facebook posted about McNack as a poet. One person said she could “rhyme words as fast as she spoke.” Another person said: “She wanted (to) start a new life but God had other plans.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 1:45 PM.