A Michigan police officer recently pulled a man from a fiery car crash seen in a dramatic body camera video.
The footage shows Officer Luke Pauley from the Harper Woods Police Department running up to a blazing vehicle on the highway and opening the passenger door without hesitation. Inside the burning vehicle was an unconscious man.
In dash cam footage from another officer on the scene, Pauley can be seen dragging the 23-year-old victim to safety on the Interstate 94.
Pauley said that his training was invaluable. “As soon as I got out of my squad car, there was bunch of bystanders yelling at me that somebody was trapped, so my training just kicked in,” Pauley said. “Somehow he made it into the passenger seat of the vehicle – I don’t know if it was from the impact.”
Pauley continued, “It looked like he was trying to get himself out of the vehicle, but he was unsuccessful at doing so. I reached my hand in because the outside door handle was locked, and I was able to unlock the door, and he pretty much just fell into my arms and that’s when I pulled him to safety.”
According to Fox 2 Detroit, an ambulance was called immediately for the unconscious driver who was taken to a local hospital. Before the ambulance arrived, two nurses who were stuck in traffic got out of their cars to render first aid.
“All I could think of was – perfect timing, glad we got here,” Pauley said. “I don’t think he would have made it. Timing was perfect. Somebody was looking out for him.”
Michigan State Police is currently investigating the crash. No first responders were harmed.