Dramatic video shows heroic bystanders rescuing an elderly Florida driver from his Porsche when it burst into flames.
The black sports car was engulfed in the middle of a road in Clearwater last week when motorcyclist David Calderon raced over to open a door and drag the 74-year-old driver to safety.
“I didn’t really think about it. I just reacted,” Calderon told WFLA.
“I was really scared. The flames were really hot. The flames [were] coming out from under the car and inside the car, you know.”
Video shows Calderon, still with his helmet on, pulling the driver from the Porsche as flames and black smoke billowed from it. The man appeared to have a prosthetic leg, his rescuer said, making the escape even trickier.
Another good Samaritan then ran over and doused the flaming car with a fire extinguisher.
Others wanted to help but were scared off because the flames were “too hot,” Calderon said.
The rescued driver, who was not otherwise identified, was taken to a local hospital for evaluation but appeared to have escaped largely unscathed, officials said.
Had Calderon and others not gotten involved, “we likely would have a very different story with a possibly tragic ending,” said Rob Shaw with the Clearwater Police Department.
“Thank you to the hero citizens who helped save a man’s life after he was unable to get out of his burning car this afternoon,” the Clearwater Fire Department said.
“And thanks to our crew members who responded to help the man get medical care and ensure the car didn’t explode from the flames enveloping it.”
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