Trolley Driver Searches for ‘Guardian Angel’

WEST WILDWOOD — Charles Frederick said he owes his life to the man who pulled him out of a burning trolley the evening of Jan. 29.
However Frederick has been waiting nearly a month to express his gratitude, because this particular “guardian angel” is proving difficult to track down.
“I owe him everything and I just want to find him and thank him,” Frederick told the Herald.
Frederick, a 43-year-old resident of West Wildwood had been a driver for the Great American Trolley Company for approximately three months before the ill fated trip on Jan. 29.
Frederick was driving with no passengers southbound on the Garden State Parkway after returning from a convention in Atlantic City. He noticed at about mile marker 22 another car came up quickly behind him and the driver was flashing his headlights. The driver then sped up to get even with Frederick’s driver-side window.
“He was yelling at me to pull over,” Frederick said. “And I did what he said as quickly as I could.”
Frederick said that no sooner than he put the trolley in park and turned off the ignition, flames shot up around his driver’s seat.
“Fire was coming up all around me and through the dash shooting right at me. I used the emergency seatbelt cutters to get out of the seat and by then black smoke had filled the entire bus,” he said.
“I went to get out and the driver’s door wouldn’t open,” Frederick said, his voice wavering with emotion. “Whoever this guy was, he punched the door open and pulled me out.”
Frederick said his pant legs caught fire in the intense blaze, but luckily his legs were not burned.
Frederick said that the man then called 911 and waited with him until rescue arrived.
Seaville Fire Department, Upper Township Rescue Squad, Medic 8 and State Police responded to the scene. Traffic was at a standstill for 45 minutes as firefighters put out the blaze.
Frederick suffered smoke inhalation and was transported to Cape Regional Medical Center for treatment by Upper Township Rescue Squad and Medic 8. The last time he saw his rescuer was right before he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Now, Frederick said he’s back to work as a driver, but the events of that evening are never far from his mind. Despite the trauma of that evening, he knows there are “good people out there.”
Frederick doesn’t remember much about the man that saved his life, but considers whoever it was “a guardian angel” and hopes he’ll come forward to accept his thanks.
Frederick can be contacted at 609-972-3291.