Newly released body camera video from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in Georgia shows an officer heroically rush to a burning vehicle and pull out a trapped passenger.
Officer Dan Whitney responded to the crash around 3 a.m. to find an SUV engulfed in flames against a large tree, according to a news release.
A man could be heard yelling for help from a small rear driver's-side window. The officer retrieved his fire extinguisher and attempted to put out the fire before trying to extricate the trapped man.
The impact of the collision had bent the frame jammed the doors shut. Whitney bent the door frame back enough to pull the man through window.
Suddenlt, an explosion from under the hood knocked off his hat and body camera.
The driver of the vehicle died in the fire and officials said that without Whitney's quick response, the passenger likely would have also died.
The backseat was completely melted and gutted minutes after the rescue and officers 50 feet away from the wreckage described the heat as unbearable.
