'Not Going to Leave Him': Ohio Officer Saves Driver from Truck Fire
By Mike Stunson
Source The Charlotte Observer
A man was rescued from his burning truck by an Ohio officer who refused to let him die in the flames, video shows.
The Columbus Division of Police said the driver struck a concrete barrier Nov. 13 on Interstate 71 along the Interstate 270 bypass. The crash caused his Dodge Ram to burst into flames.
It happened after he told a 911 dispatcher his brakes were not functioning, according to WBNS.
“My truck is on fire! Get me out of here!” he is heard saying on the 911 call shown in an unofficial YouTube page that shares police body-camera footage in Columbus.
As officers were on their way, the injured man pleaded with the dispatcher.
“Tell my wife I love her. Please tell my wife I love her,” he said on the call, WSYX footage shows.
Multiple officers converged toward the burning truck, video shows, but the flames presented issues as they tried to open the door to remove the driver.
One officer encouraged a fellow officer to back up. Instead, the woman identified by WSYX as Officer Gloria West, took it upon herself to make the harrowing rescue.
“I’m not going to leave him in there,” West is heard saying as she rushed to the driver’s side of the truck, video shows.
West opened the door and called for the driver to grab her hand before pulling him out of the truck with help from the other first responders. They then brought him to safety away from the vehicle.
Moments before an explosion is heard from the truck, a fellow officer credited West for her “phenomenal” work.
Police said the driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition, but he is expected to survive.
“They were there fast, immediately rendered aid, immediately tried to remove his clothes,” Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital Lodge #9, told WSYX. “He was smoking. This man was on fire. He 100% would not have lived had they not taken the action they took.”
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