Intense dashcam footage shows Florida law enforcement rescuing a man trapped inside a crashed vehicle that had burst into flames. The incident occurred on April 2 in the Riverwood community near Port Charlotte.
In the video, a deputy with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office pulls up to the scene of a burning vehicle and immediately jumps into action.
“There’s somebody in the car. Cars on fire,” the deputy says over the radio as he runs toward the fiery wreck.
As the lone officer struggles to get a man out of the flaming vehicle, a person who appears to be a civilian rushes over to help. The pair are able to pull the man halfway out of the car, but the victim’s legs remain trapped among the flames.
Another officer arrives at the scene and the three frantically work to free the man stuck in the car.
Eventually, one of the officers retrieves a fire extinguisher from his cruiser. The civilian and third officer finally manage to free the man from the wreck and quickly drag him away from the fire.
The officers were later revealed to be Deputy First Class Garrett Parrish and Deputy First Class Bryant Ovalles Vasquez, who used a pocket knife to release the man from his seatbelt.
The man pulled from the flaming wreck is in critical condition, but is likely to survive the ordeal, the sheriff said.
“VIDEO MAY BE DIFFICULT TO WATCH A man is alive today thanks to the heroic actions of two Charlotte County Deputies. Early Saturday morning, deputies arrived on the scene of a vehicle accident where a man was trapped inside his burning vehicle. The neighbors inside the Riverwood community were alerted by the loud crash and called 911. The callers described the flames as being 5 feet high and heard a man screaming for help,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said he was proud of the deputies for acting “bravely in the face of danger.”
“You truly never know what the night will hold,” says Sheriff Bill Prummell. “The job of a deputy is to act bravely in the face of danger, regardless of what lies ahead. These young men did just that. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Last month, at least five people were reportedly killed in a fiery 50-60 car pileup on a Pennsylvania interstate, caused by blowing snow and a dense fog that led to zero visibility on the northern roadway.
