Witnesses save accident victims Croft will coach at Livingston
News from July 27, 2006 issue
In all likelihood, two good samaritans who rescued a man and woman from a burning grain truck last Thursday on U.S. 60 near Mattoon saved the couples’ lives.
Orman Matthews, 66, and his wife Donna Matthews, 61, were traveling in the westbound lane of U.S. 60 when Orman Matthews, the driver, lost control of his farm truck. He attempted to regain control, but over compensated and the vehicle fishtailed several times across the highway, witnesses told police investigating the accident.
The truck finally turned over on its side and skidded down the road against a guard rail of the eastbound lane. It then caught fire.
After witnessing the accident from their own automobiles, Steve Cooper, 48, and Ronald Cook, 51, ran toward the burning truck.
Realizing the fire could escalate rapidly, they tried get Matthews and his wife from the burning vehicle.
Neither the driver, nor the passenger were wearing a seat belt. Orman Matthews fell on top of his wife when the truck landed on its side, said witnesses.
The rescuers first attempted to pull the Matthews from the driver’s side door but they were unsuccessful.
“We tried to pull him out but he couldn't move,” said Cooper.
As the flames grew hotter, Cooper found a stick and tried to break the front windshield of the grain truck.
“That protective glass just didn’t want to break,” said Cooper, recalling the difficulty of breaking the windshield, which is deigned by manufacturers to be shatter resistant.
The two rescuers were eventually able to break the glass.
After pulling Orman Matthews to safety, Cooper and Cook returned to the burning truck and pulled his wife out safely.
The Matthews were taken to Crittenden Hospital by ambulance, said Sheriff Wayne Agent.
They remained hospitalized early this week, both in stable condition.
Donna Matthews suffered broken bones and both were badly bruised from the accident.
Crittenden and Sullivan fire departments were called to assist the Mattoon Volunteer Fire Department at the scene.
Grain from the overturned truck was scattered into the westbound lane of the highway.
The fire was put out in less than an hour, however U.S. 60 remained closed for a couple hours.
The cause of the fire was unknown, but authorities speculate the fuel tank may have been punctured during the accident, causing the fuel to ignite.
Authorities also believe if Cooper and Cook had not rushed to aid the couple, neither would have survived the accident.
After only one season away from coaching basketball, former Rocket skipper Jimmy Croft, 49, says he missed it too much and is heading back to the controls of a high school basketball team – this time at neighboring Livingston Central.
Last week, the 26-year Crittenden County coaching veteran was hired as the Cardinals’ new coach. He replaces former Livingston basketball coach Mike Johnson, who resigned recently to take a baseball coaching job at Murray High.
Croft, who played and coached at Crittenden, fully understands the long-time and often bitter rivalry with arch-nemesis Livingston Central. He didn’t have much to say about that part of his move, but did talk about the great tradition at Livingston.
“I always said it might be the real place to be. I could not pass it up,” Croft said.
Croft's first home game at Smithland with his new team will be Dec. 15 against none other than Crittenden County.
The new Cardinal coach compiled a 138-117 record in 10 seasons at the helm of the Crittenden boys’ program. He resigned after the 2004-05 season.
Some highlights of Croft’s tenure at Crittenden County included the 1997-98 squad which went 19-8 recording the first winning season since Croft’s playing days of 1973-74. The program’s first Fifth District Tournament title in decades also occurred on Croft’s watch in 1998.
Croft will try and help revive a program that was dominant in 1970s and 1980s under former coaches Don Ringstaff and Mike Riley.
During a 20-year span, Livingston won seven Fifth District championships and finished as a runnerup five times. They also made it to the Second Region Title game in 1978, falling to Christian County, and made semifinal appearances in 1983 and ‘84.
However, the program has experienced some lean years lately. It last captured a district title in 1995. The Cardinals have gone 61-168 the last nine years.
“I saw Don and Mike have a ton of success together and I hope to help the program return to a high level. It was on top for a long time,” Croft said.
After being hired last week, he has already started evaluating his team, holding open gym sessions at Salem.
While he will always have a special place in his heart for Crittenden County’s Rocket blue, the new Cardinal skipper does not believe it will be hard to coach against his alma mater in the future.
“We will have a good strong mental approach when we enter those ballgames. I really don’t want to make it anymore than that,” he said.
Croft can retire from teaching in four more years, but said he would like to continue coaching as long as possible.
He thanked everyone in the Crittenden County School System for 26 wonderful years of teaching and coaching and is appreciative for the opportunity afforded him over those years. Croft’s wife, Denise, will also take a teaching position in the Livingston County School System.
Although the new job will prevent him from being able to watch his son Payton and Tim Hill during their sophomore seasons at WKCTC, the new Livingston skipper said the urge to return to the sidelines was just too strong to ignore.
Riley, who coached against Croft in the 1990s, is the current Livingston Central principal. Riley said he has been impressed with Croft’s competitive nature through the years.
“You’ve got to look at the experience. We were looking for someone to bring both experience and stability to our program,” Riley said.
Croft will be Livingston’s fifth boys’ coach in the last 10 years. Riley said Croft’s willingness to stick around for a while was a key factor in hiring the former Rocket mentor.
“I liked what Jimmy brought to the table,” Riley said.
Riley also said he was encouraged by Croft’s desire to build a strong little league basketball program in Livingston County.
“All successful programs start in the feeder program,” Riley said.