A police officer in Michigan rescued an elderly woman from a burning pickup truck Saturday night. Video footage of Saturday’s incident shows how the police officer risked the flames in order to pull the woman out of the truck.
According to Fox2 Detroit, Fraser Police Officer Cameron Rieper has been identified as the heroic officer who quickly responded to the scene of the fire in Macomb County, Michigan, after it was reported that a pickup truck was on fire in the median of a nearby street.
Video recorded from the police officer’s vehicle shows Rieper quickly approaching the elderly woman’s door as the fire enveloped the pickup truck.
“There was flames in like the bed area of the truck and then the engine compartment was just starting to catch on fire,” Rieper told Fox2 Detroit.
Rieper explained that the elderly woman who was initially trapped in the burning truck, appeared to be “confused” and attempted to hold onto the steering wheel while he tried to pull her out of the vehicle.
“She appeared confused, wasn’t really answering questions,” Rieper said. “She was still inside the vehicle so I opened the door, took her safety belt off and tried to get her out of the car.”
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As a former firefighter, Rieper was not deterred by the flames or the woman’s reluctance to leave the vehicle, and the officer eventually was able to rescue the elderly woman from the burning truck.
Fox2 Detroit reported that the unidentified woman was transported to the hospital and only sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the incident.
Rieper told Fox2 Detroit that the cause of the crash was not clear. “She was an elderly female,” he said. “It’s not really known if she had a medical issue or what exactly happened before the original crash.”
The heroic officer also provided tips for individuals who may find themselves in a situation similar to the one he experienced on Saturday.
“Do your best to try to assist the driver,” he said. “Yell to them to get out of the car, informing our dispatch exactly what’s going on just so we have accurate information when we get on scene and we know what we’re walking into.”
