ALFRED — Ernesto Cabading awoke to a loud bang. It was the early morning hours of May 30, and as he looked out the window, he saw flames.

A pickup truck had crashed outside the home he shares with his wife and three children on Whaleback Road in Limington.

“I grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the fire out,” he said Friday when he was one of three York County residents to be honored by Sheriff Bill King.

According to a York County Sheriff ’s Office investigation into the case, a pickup truck had crashed in the woods, adjacent to his front yard. Two people were ejected while two others were trapped inside the truck.

Cabading said the vehicle’s engine was on fire, and tried to calm the two people inside until help could arrive. Cabading said it seemed like forever, but knows it was just a few minutes.

Deputies said Cabading was able to extinguish the flames just before firefighters and rescue personnel arrived.

The crash claimed the life of one of the passengers. Deputies said the operator was driving too fast for the heavy fog conditions and the truck left the road, struck a guardrail and careened into the culvert before crashing into some trees and rolling over.

Looking back, Cabading said it was the adrenaline that kept him battling the flames that morning. And while he knows the others lived, one passenger did not.

“Its upsetting to think about,” he said. “Someone died.”

King also honored a man for intervening in a violent episode and another for turning in an officer’s lost credentials.

One April day in Arundel, Robert Daigle was driving on a secondary road when he saw a man and a woman involved in an argument that looked like it could escalate. So he parked his car a short distance away, and watched.

Sure enough, the man assaulted the woman, an event that Daigle described as “quite violent.”

“I sounded the horn, turned (the car) around) and he stopped,” said Daigle. He whipped out a cellphone and took a photo, making sure the man saw him.

“He knew he wouldn’t get away with it,” said Daigle.

The woman walked up to his car and asked Daigle not to report what had happened to her. He said he would report it and he did – and volunteered to be a witness in the case.

Cabading and Daigle, who live at opposite ends of York County, were recognized for their willingness to help others. As well as honoring them, the sheriff handed out awards recognizing the efforts of rural patrol deputies and jail corrections staff.

King described Cabading’s actions.

“He ran from the house and quelled the flames,” said King. “He exhibited extreme bravery.”

He noted that Daigle stopped and took the time to observe what was happening and get involved.

“Many citizens would have continued driving,” said King of Daigle’s actions.

A third citizen, Richard Savoy, was honored for promptly turning in an officer’s credentials when they became lost at the scene of an incident.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].