2 RIC Students Honored for Heroism After Near-Fatal Car Crash

“In this day and age, you just hear bad, all the bad,” said Richard Benson, father of car crash survivor Devin Benson. “But a group of people from different walks of life got together and helped save my son’s life.”

On the evening of Sept. 12, Kelly Pestana, 25, and Karl Ong, 23, were on Route 95, heading for a concert by R&B artist The Weeknd.

Pestana, in her junior year at Rhode Island College, is a quiet, soft-spoken social work major. Though she is sure of her life purpose, she wonders if her shyness will interfere with her ability to meet suffering head on. Thoughtful, she eyed the flow of traffic in front of her and then sat up a little straighter when her GPS told her to take a right up ahead.

“A left would be shorter,” Ong said, from the passenger seat. Ong is also a RIC junior. As a computer science major, he hopes to work as a technician in a hospital like Hasbro where, he said, “people are about saving lives.” With the build of a seasoned weightlifter, Ong carries his broad, stout frame with ease and confidence.

“Take a left, Kelly,” he said again, urging her to ignore the GPS. Pestana conceded and took a left turn.

Only a few minutes later, a car in front of them blew a tire and began veering out of control. From the middle lane, the car crossed into the fast lane, plunged down a hill into a wooded area, flipped over on its hood and came to a stop beneath a tree. Immediately the leaves of the tree caught fire.

“We have to stop. We have to help them,” Pestana said, pulling over to the side of the road. “Call 911,” she told Ong, jumping out of the car.

Another vehicle immediately pulled up behind them. An African-American male emerged, who Richard Benson would later call “the mystery man.” The man asked if they needed help and then hurried down the hill with Pestana to the crash site while Ong called 911.

The smell of gasoline was everywhere, Pestana recalled. Slumped against the driver’s side window was 21-year-old Devin Benson, a North Providence native, who had been returning from the University of Tampa to visit his dad. All the windows were shut and the doors locked. Devin was unconscious.

A third vehicle pulled up and painter Arthur Pallingas jumped out, followed by a fourth vehicle. The driver of the fourth vehicle popped his trunk and began handing out tools to help extract Devin from his car. 

Fire had now spread from the tree to the passenger side of the car. The painter used a small fire extinguisher to quell some of the flames. This bought them some time. The mystery man used a wrench to smash the back window. The painter used the wrench to crack the driver’s door. Karl jerked the door open, grabbed Devin by the collar and attempted to pull him out, but Devin was caught by his seatbelt. The painter used a knife to cut the seatbelt. Then the three men carried Devin to the roadside. Less than two minutes later, the car exploded.

​“My son Devin is six feet two inches tall and weighs 240 pounds,” said Richard. “They carried 240 ‘unconscious’ pounds to the shoulder of the road.”

Two off-duty EMTs and a nurse attempted to rouse Devin who was still unconscious. Finally they were able to revive him before the ambulance arrived. 

Once Devin was stable, the mystery man thanked Ong and high-fived Pestana. Ong recalled him saying, “’Well, we saved a life today,’ as if he went around doing that all the time. He was very kind, very humble. Then he got into his car and drove off.”

​​​​Based on the police report, Devin’s father was able to track down Pestana, Ong and Pallingas to say thank you; however, no one has been able to identify the mystery man nor any of the other Good Samaritans who stopped to help, so Richard sent out an appeal via social media.

WPRI-12 Eyewitness News picked up on the story with the headline: “Father Searching for ‘Angels’ Who Rescued His Son from Fiery Crash.”

On Oct. 6 RIC President Frank D. Sánchez bestowed formal Presidential Commendations to Pestana and Ong for their heroic efforts. Sánchez was joined by his executive cabinet and their staff, Richard and Connie Benson and WPRI-12 Eyewitness News reporter Walt Buteau.

For Ong, engaging in small acts of kindness is simply how he was raised by his Filipino grandmother. For Pestana, the car crash turned out to be one of self-discovery. “When I met Devin, I felt that I helped him and he helped me find out more about who I am,” she said.

She discovered that beneath her shy exterior is a core of strength and that under fire she is able to lead, running toward rather than away from human suffering. “It’s an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” she said.

Devin suffered a concussion and some burns to his back and chest; however, he is back in school and is expected to make a full recovery.