A Connecticut trooper and two bystanders pulled a man from a burning car in a daring rescue caught on video.
David Bartlett was driving east on Route 72 in Plainville on Tuesday morning when he lost control of his Pontiac Grand Prix and struck a metal guard rail before slamming into a bridge, the New York Daily News reports.
Trooper Thomas Karanda was working a construction detail nearby when Bartlett's vehicle burst into flames.
"I exited my car, ran up to the vehicle ... it was fully involved at that particular point," Karanda told WFSB . "A lot of smoke, I couldn't even see if there was any occupants at that point."
Karanda smashed the driver's window and was able to pull Bartlett from the fiery wreck with assistance from a construction worker and a passing motorist.
The Connecticut State Police released dramatic dash-cam footage of the rescue. Trooper Karanda said the three of them "bent the door back, grabbed him by his arm and walked him away from the car before the car became really involved," according to WFSB.
Bartlett was taken to Hartford Hospital for evaluation, and his family is grateful for the quick work of the trooper and the other two good Samaritans.
