A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper is being praised after rescuing a woman trapped inside a burning vehicle Tuesday afternoon
Trooper Zac Newton was driving on the Highway 43 Bypass near Summertown when he spotted a fiery wreck, according to WKRN-TV.
After rushing over to the burning car, Newton discovered there was a female driver who could not get out because all of the doors were jammed from the impact of the crash.
The trooper use his baton to smash the rear passenger's side window and pulled the woman out to safety.
Just seconds after the rescue, the car was fully engulfed in flames. It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze.
The driver, identified as Greta Bivens, was transported to Maury Regional Medical Center and is expected to be OK.
Newtown, a two-year veteran of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was lauded for his actions by Maury County District Attorney General Brent Cooper.
"I want to commend THP Trooper Zac Newton for risking his own life to save a stranger today," he said in a statement. "We are truly blessed to have people like Trooper Newton out there watching out for us."
