Good Samaritans help rescue man from burning car
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Close to two dozen people rescued a man trapped inside a burning vehicle near FM 1960 and Champion Forest on Saturday night.
"It was scary. My adrenaline was up like, 'Let's get this guy out because we don't know what's going to happen!'" exclaimed Kristen Piper.
WATCH: Dramatic video taken after the rescue, of the car engulfed in flames
She was driving by and stopped to help because she's a medical assistant and trained in first aid. Piper was one of about 20 people who were trying to save the man. A woman and two children were able to get out of the car on their own, Piper said.
The car hit a utility pole, took out a stop sign and flipped before she arrived. People were breaking windows and rocking it to help the man escape. Piper said a surgeon tech cut the man's seatbelt and she and the tech helped pull the man out.
"So we were trying to take turns trying to get him out. With all of the glass everywhere and the heat and smoke it was kind of hard to see him!"
The fire department and police arrived after the man was safe. No information was available about his condition on Sunday evening. Piper is grateful so many people stopped to help.
"It was a really amazing experience that all the Houston people got together trying to help this family. That's a wonderful thing. With what's been going on with the world, that's wonderful that people got together and helped each other," she said.
"There were countless selfless people throwing caution to the wind," wrote Ruben Martinez, one of the people who helped and shared the story on social media. He recorded the cell phone video after the man was safe.
"There were so many concerned people helping, the whole episode took around 10-12 minutes. Houston, Texas saved this man's life. I love this city," Martinez said.
