It’s a story reminiscent of the actions of Paul and Silas in Acts 16 when an earthquake hit the prison where they were being held.
In this case, when a deadly tornado ripped through Kentucky, Prison inmate Marco Sanchez happened to be on work detail at the MCP candle factory in Mayfield. The factory became engulfed in flames very quickly, trapping hundreds inside.
Marco himself was trapped in the rubble. Even though he suffered a broken leg and several cracked ribs when the building collapsed, he managed to crawl out of an opening he found in the wreckage. He could have easily made his way to safety without a backward glance. But he didn’t.
Instead, Marco managed to find some tools, then he went back into the collapsed building to help others get free, too. Authorities say many victims were found dead just feet away from where Marco had been trapped.
Once he’d gotten as many people out as he could, he got a ride to the hospital with a firefighter. He spent a few hours getting care for his injuries. That’s when Marco was called upon to make another decision — he saw a state trooper in the hospital and turned himself in.
As a result of his actions, the Graves County Sheriff’s Office awarded Marco with the Sheriff’s Meritorious Award!
The sheriff’s department wrote on its Facebook page – “Mr. Sanchez had a lot of decisions to make that night. He could have made the decision to only save himself, but he didn’t. His actions likely resulted in other lives being saved.“