VIDEO: FL Officers Rescue Injured Driver as Crashed Car Explodes

Titusville, FL, police pulled a crash victim who was on fire to safety last week as the man's vehicle exploded, authorities said.

Police said a preliminary investigation shows that Phillip Thistle, 44, of New Jersey, was northbound on Washington Avenue and veered onto a dead-end road at a high rate of speed. He crashed a rental Toyota RAV 4 into a concrete barrier at the north end of Riveredge Drive, police said.

The RAV4 rolled over several times, and Thistle, the only occupant, pulled himself out of the wreckage and collapsed just feet away with his leg on fire, police said.

Officers charged in and pulled him to safety just before the vehicle exploded, police said.

"They don't give it a second thought. They rush into danger when everyone's rushing out," Titusville police spokeswoman Amy Matthews told News 6 Friday. "To get that victim to safety was their No. 1 priority."

Thistle was taken to a hospital, then airlifted to another facility with serious injuries, police said.