By Ryan O'Connor
Staff Writer

Dave Osborn, a former Mountain View Middle School guidance counselor, may have been in the right place at the right time when he came upon a burning wreckage on Interstate 93 over Memorial Day weekend.

Little did he know that he was about to help save two children

The accident occurred at 6:34 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, when a Chevy Blazer, driven by Paul McLaughlin, 31, of Haverhill, Mass., drifted into the breakdown lane on the left side of the highway. According to state police, McLaughlin overcorrected, lost control of the vehicle, and after crossing three southbound lanes, rolled the SUV into a nearby wooded area where it caught fire.

Neither McLaughlin, nor passenger Kerrie Marshall, 32, also of Haverhill, were wearing seat belts, and were thrown from the vehicle. McLaughlin died at the scene and Marshall later succumbed to unspecified injuries at 9:30 p.m. at Concord Hospital.

The two other passengers, Jeffrey Morse, 7, and Kayla McLaughlin, 10, were both removed from the vehicle by concerned passersby before fire engulfed the vehicle.

Osborn, a Milford resident, was one of the first at the scene.

“I was about 30 seconds behind it,” he said. “I didn’t see the rollover, but my daughter and I saw the smoke from the wreckage and immediately pulled over to help.”

Osborn, a kidney and liver transplant recipient, said he was in a coma for 12 days and essentially clinically dead a few years ago, but knew God saved him for a reason.

“I kept telling myself I was kept around for something,” he said. “This was it.”

Osborn said the emergency training he received at Mountain View Middle School helped him to think and act quickly, as he helped pull Morse from the wreckage before the vehicle became engulfed.

“While I was running, the gas tank blew up and singed the back of my shirt,” he said. “It was automatic ­ when the adrenaline kicks in, you do what you’ve gotta do, and after is when the shock of the situation really sets in.”

“It was almost like a disaster simulation, but this was real,” he added.

While Morse was saved from the blaze, Osborn said the boy’s head was split and bleeding heavily.

The extent of Morse’s head injury was unknown as of press time. Bow Assistant Fire Chief Richard Pistey confirmed the boy had been transferred from Elliot Hospital in Manchester to Boston Medical Center.

State police Sgt. Ian Berkeley said alcohol and speed may have been factors; however, the accident is still under investigation.

“We’re waiting on toxicology reports taken at the scene,” he said.

In addition to state police, the Bow and Concord fire departments and New Hampshire Department of Transportation also assisted at the scene.

Pistey said while it was obviously a horrible accident, it could serve as a lesson.

“It was just a bad accident, and if you’re looking for something to come out of this, it’s that seat belts work,” he said.

Any witnesses are urged to call New Hampshire State Police, Troop D, Concord, at 271-3636.