CLEARWATER, Fla. (WSVN) — It was a close call for one driver in Clearwater as two good Samaritans swept in for a fiery rescue.
David Calderon described the heart-stopping moments when he and another witness ran toward a Porsche that had erupted in flames, Friday.
“It was scary. It was really scary. It wasn’t just, ‘Let me just help somebody.’ You know, it was really scary for us,” he said. “I just wish – anybody else would have done it. I hope somebody does it for me, if it happens.”
The heroic two-man team that dragged the unresponsive man from the burning car.
“I was recording, and then I see an arm out of the car — they’re trying to pull him out — and I didn’t think about it. I just ran right in,” said Calderon. “There was only one guy that was able to do it. He was struggling, so I just helped him out, and we did it together.”
Calderon was all too aware that the clock was ticking.
“I grabbed [the driver] from under both arms, and we just lifted him, and we try to set him right next to the car, but everybody’s screaming, The flames, there’s gas everywhere on the floor,’ so we kept – we had to take him farther away,” he said.
Investigators have not yet specified why the Porsche caught fire.
Calderon remained humble as he praised the first responders.
“They were here within seconds, I would say, less than a minute. Thank God for them,” he said. “They’re the real heroes. They’re immediately – what they do, and they’re amazing.”
Luck was on this driver’s side. Clearwater Police and Fire Rescue spokesperson Rob Shaw was on the scene and helped to coordinate care as the man was rescued.
“We love that people want to get involved and help. You know, police officers and firefighters were on their way to the scene, but sometimes that can take three minutes, four minutes, and it’s those minutes sometimes that could be crucial to saving a life,” said Calderon.
Shaw said these actions were lifesaving.
“I’d say, had they not gotten involved, we likely would have a very different story with a possibly tragic ending,” he said.
The victim was taken to the hospital. As of late Monday morning, there is no word on his condition.
As for the second good Samaritan who helped, he wanted to remain anonymous.
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