Deciding he wasn't "going to let this guy die on me," a Texas police officer acted quickly last week to pull out a driver trapped in a Tesla pinned between concrete barriers before the vehicle burst into flames.
The incident happened shortly before 1:30 a.m. July 19 in The Colony when a Tesla became stuck between concrete barriers dividing a highway overpass and caught fire, The Colony Police Department stated in a social media post that included body camera footage of the incident. Once Officer Edwardo Hernandez and other first responders reached the scene, they began dousing the fire with extinguishers, but it did little to put out the flames.
“I noticed it was a Tesla, but I did not take into account right then and there that this was a battery, an electric vehicle,” Hernandez told WFAA, eluding to the fact that Tesla batteries can generate an incredible amount of heat and require a great deal of time and effort to cool them down.
Seeing that the extinguishers weren't working, Hernandez grabbed Halligan tool and braved the flames and smoke to try to extricate the driver.
“In my mind, I’m just thinking to myself, I’m not going to let this guy die on me," he said.
Hernandez shattered a window with the Halligan and cut through the airbag. That allowed him to reach the driver and get him out of the car minutes before flames engulfed the vehicle.
The driver was rushed to the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Although Hernandez was unhurt, one officer was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, and others were treated at the scene.
“Through that, I was able to help this person, save his life and be able to see another day,” Hernandez, who has been with the department for 19 months, told KXAS-TV. “So for me, that makes me feel that I’ve made a difference, definitely in someone’s life.”
