Emergency workers and law enforcement are at the scene of a vehicle fire on Highway 26 near milepost 168 around noon Nov. 27, 2023. The driver, who suffered burns and smoke inhalation, was rescued from the car by a passer-by.

JOHN DAY — The driver of an Acura SUV pulling a flatbed trailer was rushed to Blue Mountain Hospital after first responders were dispatched to the scene of a vehicle fire around noon on Monday, Nov. 27.

John “Bob” Shive, 81, of Prairie City, was traveling west on Highway 26 near milepost 168 when his vehicle filled with smoke, Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley said. Shive was able to stop his vehicle, a 2010 Acura, before becoming incapacitated from smoke inhalation.

Shive suffered severe smoke inhalation and burns to his upper body, McKinley said. Passers-by stopped to help and may have saved Shive’s life, according to the sheriff.

Seth Landin, a Patriot Plumbing employee, broke Shive’s window after finding the Acura’s doors locked, and removed the unresponsive driver from the vehicle. The fire was put out with an extinguisher obtained from a passing truck driver.

“Without these actions by Landin, there is a high possibility that Shive would have perished,” McKinley said.

McKinley said he drove Shive, a Prairie City resident, to the hospital as “ambulances were all out on other calls.” John Day Fire Chief Don Gabbard assisted with the patient transport.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it “appears accidental,” McKinley said.

Shortly after the incident, an electric highway sign was put up to notify motorists of an accident ahead and traffic was backed up on Highway 26 to the east and west of milepost 168, just east of John Day. The fire appeared under control around 1 p.m.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the Oregon State Police, the John Day Fire Department, Prairie City first responders and the Oregon Department of Transportation responded to the scene.