Chemnitz resident receives Lifesaving Medal of the Free State of Saxony
Mike Pfab is honoured for his heroic intervention on the motorway, which saved the life of a truck driver.
Mike Pfab certainly imagined his first day of holiday differently. It was 23 July last year - a warm Tuesday. The man from Chemnitz is driving with his girlfriend Kareen on the A72 motorway near Zwickau when a lorry suddenly skids in front of him. Quick-witted and without wasting much thought on possible dangers, Pfab overtakes the lorry and parks his motorbike on the hard shoulder. What happens next sounds more like a spectacular stunt from a Hollywood film: Mike Pfab runs towards the slowing lorry and jumps onto the running board of the tractor unit. "The driver showed no reaction," he later reports. He managed to open the driver's door, apply the brakes and bring the lorry to a halt. His courageous intervention not only saved the driver's life, but also prevented further accidents.
Seven months after this day, which Mike Pfab will never forget for the rest of his life, he is awarded the Lifesaving Medal of the Free State of Saxony by Mayor Barbara Ludwig. "He showed a great deal of civil courage at that moment and put his own life on the back burner to save another. Chemnitz is proud to have such a courageous citizen in our city. Other people will take him as an example," said Mayor Barbara Ludwig during the ceremony. The 32-year-old also signedthe city's Golden Book .