COLUMBIA, Illinois — On Sunday, Clayton Poindexter and his brother-in-law, Mark Amoroso were headed to the Jefferson Barracks Golf Tee in Columbia, Illinois.
"We were gonna go there and hit some golf balls and then I realized I forgot my golf clubs, so we turned around," said Poindexter, who lives in Affton.
They suddenly looked up to the sky.
"As we're backing up, we see a plane kind of come in very low, wobbly already," said Poindexter.
Investigators say shortly after noon a 71-year-old Waterloo man crashed his 2007 Zenith Zodiac 601HDS upside down in a field near Sackman Field along DD Road and Bluff Road on the west side of Columbia.
Once they parked their car in a nearby parking lot, Poindexter and Amoroso dashed across a farm field and ran to do everything they could to save the injured pilot.
"It gets maybe about 25 feet off the ground and then the plane kind of inverts and lands on top of the cockpit," Poindexter recalled.
Amoroso, who lives in St. Louis, called 911.
The pilot was trapped inside the burning airplane.
He was the only one inside.
"I heard him crying for help. He was like, 'Help me, help me,'" Poindexeter said.
The two brave brother-in-laws didn't hesitate to help the bleeding pilot, whose pants were also engulfed in flames.
"I was able to rip his pants, take them off of him and then after that we were able to put the flames completely out. I kept kicking the metal paneling just trying to free him. Luckily, Mark was pretty close behind me and with him and I working together, we were able to lift the plane up a little bit and maybe a couple of feet and then we able to grab him and pull him out," recalled Poindexter.
Emergency responders air-lifted the critically injured pilot to a St. Louis area hospital where he remains.
"They saved his life. Two huge heroes," said Columbia Police Chief Jason Donjon.
The proud police chief said Columbia Police Sgt. Zack Hopkins, who was the first officer on the scene, and Dispatcher Sarah Courtney were also among the pilot's "heroes."
"Without a doubt, they saved his life and you know it's just great to know there are people like that in this world and in our community," Donjon added.
"I think a lot of people would have done same," Amoroso said.
"I would tell the pilot, 'I hope you make a full recovery,'" said Poindexter said.
The police chief said the pilot is "improving and we pray that he turns out okay."
Investigators have not released the man's name.