Monday afternoon, a woman ran into a utility pole, then her car caught on fire.
While dozens of people stood watching a car burning with a woman inside, two men decided to take action. "I couldn't just stand there and watch a woman burn to death," said Jason Whittle.
Officer Whittle just happened to be in the area when driving back to the station.
At the same time, Michael Samuels was making a delivery for the local $2.50 dry cleaning store. "She's just got to get out of this car, I don't care how I'm going to do it, she's just got to get out of this car," said Samuels.
That's when Officer Whittle and Samuels took the next step.
"There was a lot of smoke. Basically the vehicle was covered in powerlines. Once I got out of my vehicle and saw the lady was in the driver's seat, she wasn't moving," said Whittle.
"I was trying to get the lady to open her door because the door was locked at the time. When she finally opened the door, myself and the other officer went in at the same time, grabbed her and pulled her out the car," said Samuels.
"Once we got her out of the car, she fell to the floor, myself and the other gentleman pick her up and carried her to the grass area over here," said Whittle.
However, they weren't done. Officer Whittle ran back to the burning car, to see if anyone else was inside. Samuels stayed with the woman until paramedics came.
The sign at Cardinal-Newman High School right beside the crash site says it all: Truly a summer blessing.
Some amazing video was shot by Midlands Resident and Nurse Patricia Hanna. She says the vehicle exploded seconds after the men pulled the woman to safety.
Hanna says, "They are truly heroes. They put their life on the line. If it weren't for them, she would probably not be alive today."
The woman who was pulled from the car sustained non life-threatening injuries.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
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