By Megan Ashley Fink

NATCHEZ — A Vidalia man became a stranger’s Thanksgiving miracle Tuesday.

Mark Cupstid, 47, rescued two children from a fiery car accident while traveling through Texas on U.S. 59.

Cupstid, a truck driver for Certified DEF, was on his way back to Louisiana Tuesday when he saw a head-on collision on the highway.

When Cupstid stopped his truck, he saw the driver escape from the vehicle, but the situation grew worse.

“The car started catching on fire and he was trying to kick in the back window, and everyone else was just standing there,” Cupstid said.

Cupstid, a U.S. Army veteran of the Gulf War, retrieved a fire extinguisher from his 18-wheeler and put the fire out.

“I used the fire extinguisher to bust the window open and got two kids out of car seats in the back,” Cupstid said.

Cupstid said he had to cut the children out of their car seat restraints with a knife he was carrying.

He didn’t stay at the scene long after rescuing the children, and did not exchange names with the people in the accident.

“(The driver) was trying to get my name,” Cupstid said. “I remember he said, ‘thank you,’ and that was it. I just got in the truck and left.”

The children’s grandfather later called Certified DEF, Cupstid’s employer, with the number printed on the back of the truck.

Jennifer Kottcamp, who works for the company in the accounting department, answered the phone.

“When he told me the truck number, I knew it was Mark,” Kottcamp said.

Kottcamp did not get the accident victim’s name, and the number he called from is disconnected.

“We haven’t decided here what we’re going to do, but we’ll reward (Cupstid) somehow because that’s going above and beyond,” Kottcamp said.

Kottcamp said she was proud of Cupstid for stopping.

“He’s very conscientious about things and would go out on a limb for anybody he knows, or even someone he doesn’t know, obviously.”