Security guard frees policeman from burning, wrecked car
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A security guard pulled an unconscious policeman from the latter’s patrol car that had caught fire following a crash in Utah in the United States.
Joseph Daniel was on duty at a local motel around 4 a.m. on Jan. 9 when he heard the collision. A commercial-sized vehicle had hit the policeman’s car at an intersection, as per the Deseret News on the same day.
Salt Lake Police Lt. Bill Manzanares stated that the driver of the larger vehicle was possibly running a red light at the time.
Following the accident, Daniel and his colleague, a clerk, immediately spotted fire under the wrecked vehicle and rushed toward it. He recalled that the officer (name withheld) was trapped in his car and was semi-conscious with a bloodied face.
Despite yelling at the policeman that his car had caught fire, the officer could not escape. According to the report, the door had gotten jammed due to the collision.
“He was beating on the window. I asked him to get a baton, and he was looking for it,” Daniel explained. “I ripped the door handle off and I think that got the door loose a little bit, cause the door was crushed from the wreck. It got open from there.”
As Daniel pulled the officer from the car, his colleague put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. Daniel also believed that the car would have exploded with the officer still inside if they had not helped him in time.
After the accident, the policeman was transferred to a hospital for evaluation. The department’s chief, Mike Brown, assured that the officer was already recovering and only sustained minor injuries.
Meanwhile, the other driver involved in the collision was reportedly cooperating with investigators.
Though Daniel had also risked his life to help the officer, he believes that it is something anyone would do in a similar situation.
“It feels really good to be able to help somebody,” he said in the report. “I would’ve done that for anyone in need.” Ryan Arcadio /ra
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