A GOOD Samaritan who tried in vain to save a person from a burning car wreck has written a heartfelt tribute to the late man.
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Despite her efforts at the crash scene on Thursday, Carolyn Young wishes there was more she could have done to help him in his final moments.
“I don’t know your name, but I was beside you at the end,” she wrote on a card, which she placed on the side of the Chiltern Valley Road with flowers on Friday.
“You weren’t alone but I couldn’t help you.
“I’m so sorry.”
The man, who has not yet been formally identified, died at the scene after crashing his vehicle into a tree about about 3.15pm.
The car rolled and the driver was trapped as fuel leaked from the vehicle.
Ms Young touched the man and spoke to him, and tried to comfort him, but had to be dragged back by another person as the flames took hold of the car.
“I thought it was someone’s son, or father, or brother,” she said.
“I just did what I could to help.
“At the time I felt so helpless that I couldn’t do anything, even though I tried.
“I’d like to think someone would do the same for me if they were first on the scene.”
Ms Young travelled into town to buy flowers and the card and placed them on the tree the vehicle struck.
Debris from the vehicle was strewn through the area.
She said there had been an “explosion” when the vehicle crashed, followed by a plume of dust.
Ms Young did not get a reaction from the victim after the crash, and hopes he was unconscious or had already passed away when the fire took hold.
“It was like a bomb going off,” she said.
“At least I tried to help.”
The road was closed for several hours after the collision.
People have paid tribute to the man online.
“So sad to hear this,” one friend said.
“You were taken too soon.”
Another friend said he was “gone but never forgotten”.
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash.
The driver's vehicle appeared to have traveled into dirt on the wrong side of the road before veering back towards the left and hitting the large tree.
The fire burnt for between 20 minutes and half-an-hour before firefighters could extinguish the flames.
Police will prepare a brief for the coroner.
