Burning car
A man sprang into action and saved a drunk driver from a burning vehicle this week. A car is pictured on fire in the middle of an intersection on April 27, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

A Chicago man is being hailed a hero after he sprang into action and pulled a drunk driver from a burning vehicle after an accident left the car on fire.

Dash cam footage released by police Wednesday showed the harrowing moment when Jose E. Martinez saved a man from the fiery wreckage on March 31.

The fire was a result of a single-car crash that happened at approximately 12:12 a.m. Saturday on East New York Street in Aurora, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Martinez, whose house was across the street from the scene, said he ran over immediately. "Now that I think about it, maybe it was a little crazy," he told the paper. "You could see the fire."

Another man, 29-year-old Devin Johnson, also responded and provided support during the rescue. He can be seen dragging the driver to a safe distance as the car burns. The two men had never met before, Martinez said.

Johnson told police he was driving west on the road with his date in the car when they noticed another car had been going in the opposite direction. The vehicle smashed into a cement barrier before it caught on fire. That’s when he made a U-turn and decided to help.

"It was just human nature taking over," Johnson said. "If you see someone in trouble, you go help them."

The man Martinez pulled from the accident was 34-year-old Anselmo Baca-Vazquez of Warrenville. He was arrested and charged with two counts of misdemeanor drunken driving, driving without insurance, improper lane usage, driving without lights and received a citation for driving too fast for conditions, according to court records obtained by the Chicago Tribune.

Aurora police and firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes. The department later posted a video of the incident on Facebook.

"To say Jose's actions were heroic and brave [is] an understatement. Had he not taken immediate action, the driver would not have lived. Devin should also be commended for assuring the man was out of harm's way. Outstanding job, gentlemen," the caption read.

The accident occurred when Baca-Vazquez rear-ended an unidentified woman's car at the intersection, fled the scene and then "got into the crash where his vehicle burst into flames," according to Aurora Police Department. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Martinez, who works as wrestling coach at a youth center in Chicago, said he was just in the right place at the right time and that he hoped the young man doesn't make the same mistake.

"I just hope he's well and hope he learned his lesson. Call a cab or Uber. He could have killed himself or somebody else," he told WLS-TV.

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