Harper Woods public safety officer rescues man from burning car
HARPER WOODS, Mich. July 1 2021– Dramatic video shows a public safety officer from Harper Woods putting himself in danger to rescue a man from a burning car on I-94.
The officer, Luke Pauley, said before he arrived, he didn’t know anyone was trapped in the car. Pauley was responding to a call that a car had rolled over on I-94 at Moross and was on fire.
“As soon as I got out of my scout car there were a bunch of bystanders telling me someone was trapped,” Pauley said. “My training just kicked in.”
Bystanders can be heard in the audio on the officer’s body camera telling him that the driver was trapped in the car.
“Somehow he made it into the passenger seat,” Pauley said. “It looked like he was trying to get himself … I reached my hand in … I was able to unlock the door, pulled him to safety.”
The dramatic rescue was recorded on camera. Pauley pulled the 23-year-old driver out and officer Daniel McCaw jumped in to help. The driver was in and out of consciousness throughout the rescue.