An Imperial County Sheriff’s deputy recently pulled multiple people from a vehicle shortly before it was engulfed in flames following a collision.
According to a press release by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office, just after 4 AM on Sunday, August 11, a deputy from the Salton City substation was on routine patrol along Highway 86 and 72nd Avenue when they came across a two-vehicle collision that had occurred shortly before. One vehicle was blocking the northbound lanes of Highway 86, while the other came to rest on the east shoulder.
The deputy positioned their patrol vehicle on Highway 86 and activated the emergency lights. The deputy then initiated evacuation procedures for the passengers in the first vehicle. The deputy first freed the driver, who was trapped by their seatbelt, before then freeing a young child from the back seat.
An injured female passenger had also become trapped in the back of the vehicle, and required assistance to be moved to safety on the highway shoulder. The front passenger also became trapped as the vehicle caught fire. The deputy attempted to extinguish the fire with a department-issued fire extinguisher, but the extinguisher proved ineffective as the fire had already grown too quickly. The deputy ultimately decided to simply cut the passenger’s seatbelt and pull her from under the dashboard.
Ultimately, all occupants were rescued from the vehicle before it became fully engulfed in flames.
