Video has captured the rescue of a man from a burning vehicle by police and a firefighter in a New Jersey community on May 5.
Roselle Park police report that they received a 911 call of a vehicle on fire after a caller “reported a strange noise coming from a vehicle causing a smoke condition.”
Police posted a video Tuesday which shows officers coming up to a vehicle in flames. Police say the engine compartment was engulfed in flames, the passenger compartment was closed, and dark tinted windows made it impossible to see inside the vehicle. One patrolman asked a bystander if someone was in the car.
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Ptl. Robert Harms then breaks a window, police say, to see inside the vehicle, which is full of black smoke. Looking in, he can see the silhouette of a person in the driver’s seat and immediately opens the driver’s door.
Officers can be heard shouting at the man to get out of the car. Police say the man was slumped over the steering wheel. Harms and deputy chief Steven Thompson grabbed the man’s arm, pulled him out of the vehicle and dragged him away from the car. According to the department, the 42-year-old man also “resisted the officer’s efforts to remove him from the burning vehicle.”
Two officers are then seen a few seconds later picking up the man by his arms and legs and taking him to a grassy area on the sidewalk. A large bang and sirens from the fire department vehicles are then heard.
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The driver was alert and speaking once out of the vehicle, and had not suffered any visible serious injuries. He was taken to hospital for further evaluation.
According to police, a preliminary inspection indicated the driver had been seen sleeping inside the running vehicle and may have pressed the gas pedal for an extended period of time, causing the engine to overheat and eventually catch fire.