A San Jose Police Department officer pulled a driver from a burning car on Sunday after a collision on Highway 101, authorities said.
Officer Pedro Garcia, who has been on the force since February 2021, said he was driving on I-680 on the offramp of 101 heading south around 2:50 p.m. when he saw a car on fire. Garcia notified dispatch because he didn’t see firefighters at the scene and then noticed a man unconscious behind the wheel of the car.
Garcia said there were people “yelling and screaming” and he ran towards the man and dragged him out of the car by his armpits to a fire truck that had arrived. Garcia said that he later found out that it was so hot in the vehicle that the man’s shoes had melted down to the floorboard.
“I believe I was at the right place at the right time,” Garcia said, adding that the flames engulfed the entire hood area of the car and that the fire was “maybe a foot away” from his face.
San Jose Fire Department officials also responded to a report of an incident of a collision and a car on fire, according to an Instagram post.
VIDEO: San Jose officer pulls trapped victim out of burning car. (Courtesy: @engine16truck_sjfd on Instagram).
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“As we arrived on scene we witnessed quick reaction and bravery by a SJPD officer pulling out a trapped victim from the fire,” fire officials said.
The victim was transported and treated and Garcia wasn’t injured, authorities said.
