Video: Road Rage Actually Medical Emergency as Wash. Deputies Save Burning Truck's Driver

When Snohomish County sheriff's deputies responded to a pickup truck that caught fire after ramming an SUV, they discovered the driver had suffered a medical crisis and pulled him to safety.

Source Officer.com News

Joe Vince

Nov. 19, 2025

2 min read

What to know

• Snohomish County sheriff's deputies determined a reported vehicle assault involving a pickup truck ramming an SUV was actually a trapped driver suffering a medical emergency.

• Fire extinguishers were used to slow the spread of flames after the truck's tires caught fire, and deputies pulled the man from a burning vehicle.

• The sheriff’s office said the deputies' response likely prevented a fatality.

Snohomish County, WA, sheriff's deputies responded to a road rage call involving a pickup truck that caught fire while ramming an SUV last week. But they discovered the driver was suffered a medical emergency and pulled him to safety.

A reported road rage incident turned out to be a medical emergency when Washington deputies rescued a driver from a pickup truck that was on fire last week.

The rescue happened Thursday when Snohomish County sheriff's deputies and a Monroe police officer responded to a call of a Ford F-150 pickup truck ramming an SUV, the sheriff's office stated in an online news release. As the truck continued crashing into the other vehicle, its tires began to smoke and eventually catch fire.

But deputies soon found that road rage wasn't the reason behind the incident.

"When deputies arrived, they quickly discovered that the driver of the F-150 was actually experiencing a medical emergency and was in urgent need of help," the sheriff's office stated. "The back end of his vehicle had become engulfed in flames, placing him in significant danger."

In body camera footage from the call, deputies used a fire extinguisher to stop the fire from spreading as they tried to free the trapped driver. Once deputies pulled the driver to safety, they treated him until medics arrived.

The sheriff's office credited the deputies quick actions with saving the driver's life, according to KIRO-TV.

About the Author

Joe Vince

Joining Endeavor Business Media in 2018, Joe has worked on the company's city services publications. He began working at OFFICER.com as the assistant editor. Before starting at Endeavor, Joe had worked for a variety of print and online news outlets, including the Indianapolis Star, the South Bend Tribune, Reddit and Patch.com.