A man who saved the lives of four people from a firey explosion in St. John’s this past May has been honoured for his bravery.

Mike Stapleton received the Royal Canadian Humane Association Bravery Award at city hall last night.

On May 12th Stapleton, a veteran taxi driver of 34 years, came across an accident where a car had smashed into a concrete post under an overpass.

Four people were trapped in the car, and he was able to get them all out just moments before the vehicle exploded.

Stapleton says his body went on autopilot.

“I never did anything major like that before in my life, right?
It was incredible, b’y.”

Stapleton says he couldn’t believe it when he got the call offering him the award.

He says while he is honoured and humbled to receive it, the real heroes are the teenagers who survived the ordeal.