Good Samaritan who saved pregnant woman from burning car loses arm in crash

CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte man whose heroic efforts saved the life of a pregnant woman this summer is in desperate need of help after a life-changing accident.

On July 2, Kwanelle Parker was driving on Interstate 77 near Gilead Road in Huntersville when he noticed a car engulfed in flames in the expressway. Inside the car was 37-year-old Jamie Sicard, who was seven months pregnant -- and unconscious.

Parker ran across the road carrying a fire extinguisher to the car. He pulled Sicard out of the vehicle and carried her to the other side of the road, saving her life and the life of her unborn child.

“When I seen that car burning, it just made sense to me,” Parker said.

Parker never sought attention and almost turned down an interview when Channel 9 first called to share his heroic story, but the good Samaritan is now, himself, in great need of help.

Over Labor Day weekend, Parker was on Westinghouse Boulevard, only minutes from home, and swerved to miss a car he said merged without seeing his motorcycle.

“Hit the curb and threw me off,” he said. “I never hit my head, never lost consciousness or anything.”

Parker suffered devastating injuries, though. His right leg and left arm were broken, his shoulder blade was shattered and his right arm had to be amputated from the elbow down.

“I reached to grab my bookbag and this hand was broken. Then I tried to reach this arm around and the hand was sitting on the floor between my legs,” he said.

Parker has already had several surgeries, with more to come. He hopes to be fitted for a prosthetic arm to help him feel whole again and to be the best stepfather he can to 8-year-old Rya.

“They call it a Hero Arm. It’s kind of perfect, right?” Parker’s fiancé Chastity Thomas said. “He is a hero to his family and friends.”

Parker drove a truck and installed appliances for a living, but now he’s unable to work. He and his fiancé are raising money to cover medical costs.

>> There is a GoFundMe set up to raise money for Kwanelle Parker’s medical costs. You can donate here.

The couple hopes Parker’s act of selflessness when someone else needed it most will inspire people do the same for him.

“’I’m glad I did it. I’d really appreciate the help I could get now out of the kindness of anyone’s heart,” Parker said.

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