TORONTO – A Minnesota man is being hailed as a hero after he bent a car door open with his bare hands to save a driver trapped inside a burning vehicle.
Mike Johannes’ vehicle caught fire while he was driving the SUV down a Minneapolis interstate Sunday evening.
According to CBS, Johannes managed to pull the vehicle over to the side of the highway but was trapped in the 2006 SUV after its locks jammed.
Johannes began kicking the doors and windows in an attempt to escape the burning vehicle.
“I just didn’t feel it was gonna be my time,” Johannes told CBS. “There’s no way I wanted to burn.”
Bob Renning was driving along the interstate when he noticed the burning SUV. He pulled over and rushed to the car.
“I can’t see who or what is in the vehicle itself until I get a little bit closer and see the bottom of shoes kicking against the glass on the passenger side,” Renning told CBS.
After several failed attempts at kicking out the door, Renning took the matter into his own hands and bent the passenger side door frame.
“I still don’t know how I did this, but I managed to get my fingers in behind the door frame along the top, and just started pulling until the glass shattered,” Renning told the news outlet.
The driver managed to escape the burning wreck with only a few cuts and bruises. He was also treated for smoke inhalation.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to Bob,” Johannes said. “He saved my life. There’s a seven-year-old girl, and my wife that owe a lot.”
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