WATCH: Police body cam footage shows how bystanders saved man from a burning car


Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

HIGHLAND — Recently-released body camera footage shows the rescue of a man from his burning car earlier this month in Highland, in which officials said bystanders played an integral role.

Shortly after midnight on June 14, a man was westbound on state Route 92 when his vehicle drove into oncoming traffic and then off the side of the road, according to Lone Peak Fire District Chief Reed Thompson.

The vehicle drove through trees, a chain-link fence and then off an embankment. It landed in a sewer lift station, where it hit a wall and caught fire.

The footage of the aftermath of that crash comes from Lone Peak police officer Brock Susov, who said the bystanders that day played a big role in the rescue.

“I give a lot of credit to those witnesses,” Susov said. “Had they not stopped, had they not found a way into that secured area, had they not given us all of that information, I think there would’ve been a totally different outcome so I think most of the credit really goes to them.”

When Susov arrived at the scene, civilians directed him to exactly where the crash was and helped him access the area, he said.

“We definitely welcome that assistance,” he said, noting civilian aid in life-or-death situations is typically helpful to officers.

The driver was unconscious and trapped in the car and witnesses were trying to speak to the man, Susov said. Both the passenger and driver's side doors were smashed in, he explained.

By the time Susov reached the car, it was smoking and smoldering but he said prior to that at one point, it had been completely engulfed in flames.

The driver regained consciousness, and authorities and witnesses began pulling him out of the burning car, according to Susov. The man’s leg was stuck and a witness helped free the leg to get the man fully out of the car, he said.

Lone Peak Fire District officials arrived after the man was out of the vehicle and helped with the man's care, Susov said. The fire district acknowledged the witnesses and police officers for the role they played in the incident in a Facebook post.

The driver was transported to a local trauma center, and was last known to be in critical but stable condition. His current condition wasn’t available.

When Susov first heard of the crash he expected to find a more hopeless and gruesome scene.

“I was picturing someone getting burned alive,” he said. “My first thoughts was I was going to be finding someone dead.”

But thanks to the quick thinking witnesses who stopped to help, Susov said the man was saved. As for his actions, he said that’s just part of the job.

“We were just on-duty and doing our job,” he said. “We were just glad we could help.”

Contributing: Natalie Mollinet, KSL TV; Sean Moody, KSL TV.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Lauren Bennett is a reporter with KSL.com who covers Utah’s religious community and the growing tech sector in the Beehive State.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast