Florida Man Turns Good Samaritan, Saves Driver From Burning Car

A man from South Florida played Good Samaritan when he came to the rescue of a driver who crashed his car, that erupted in flames on a wet Miami Beach roadway, early Saturday morning, Fox-affiliated television station, WSVN reported.

Flames had already swallowed up the car when Miami Beach Police and Fire Rescue reached the scene of the crash. The incident occurred early Saturday morning in the 4600 block of Alton Road. The rescuer, who chose to stay anonymous said that he was 100 feet away from the car at the time of the crash. "I just saw him spiral out of control because the street was wet."

He recalled how he jumped out his car when he saw that the car was catching flames. "I jumped out. I saw the car beginning to catch flames," he said. He added that he looked through the burning sedan’s window and saw the driver before rescuing him.

"I saw the guy trapped inside and I pulled him out, because what else am I going to do? He was stuck in there," he added. Once he saved the driver, the rescuer called the police to the scene.

Reports state that the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames in the middle of the street near a house. Investigators of the incident said that the driver had already fled the scene before the authorities arrived. He later returned and was ticketed by the police for leaving the scene of the crash, among other charges.

According to the report in WSVN, no fatalities were reported in the crash. Police had also initially shut down Alton Road while the investigations were ongoing.

The anonymous rescuer, even after saving the driver’s life, believes that he is no hero as anybody in his situation would have reacted in the same way. "I don’t know. Anybody should have done the same thing. You see a guy trapped in a car that’s on fire, you’re gonna do anything you can do, right?" he said.

According to the latest reports, police are still investigating what led to the crash.

This is not the first case where a man heroically risked his own life to free another man from a burning car. New York Post reported another incident in the Riverina region of Australia in September when a man named Michael Van Baast freed a man from his burning car after it collided with a tree and burst into flames.

Van Baast said he was driving at night when he came across the white vehicle of 22-year-old Jacob Prosser. He told Prime News Wagga, "I saw a small flame under the bonnet [hood] and someone trapped inside. I tried opening the door but it was jammed shut," the New York Post reported.

Discounting his own safety, Van Baast smashed the driver’s window and dragged Prosser out of the wreck, saving his life. "At that point, I saw flames in the dashboard and I thought, 'This is not going to end well,' so I decided to brute-force him out. I got a good grip on him and starting pulling him out."

Prosser was unconscious when Van Baast had rescued him. Prosser was later taken to a hospital, where he was treated for burns and a broken leg.