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8 months ago
23
Dashcam video has revealed the moment Good Samaritans rushed to the aid of a man whose car had burst into flames on a Minnesota highway, pulling him to safety seconds before certain death.
The man's Honda ran off the road on I-94 near Snelling Avenue, hit a lamppost and burst into flames at around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Video captures the harrowing rescue of the driver, an elderly man, as several other motorists abandoned their vehicles on the side of the freeway.
Kadir Tolla was one of them. He was heading to work in St. Paul when he encountered the burning car, moments after the collision, and suspected the driver was trapped inside.
'It was just like the scariest moment of my life. This is something that I'll never forget. I will always remember this,' Tolla told FOX9.
Dashcam video captured the moment Good Samaritans pulled a driver from his burning car on a Minnesota freeway
The Honda ran off the road on I-94, hit a lamppost and burst ablaze on Thursday evening, according to state officials
A group of bystanders rushed to the car and attempted to break the windows as the flames grew
Dashcam footage shows Tolla, clad in a gray shirt and white sneakers, joining several other witnesses as they attempted to wrench the doors open.
Tolla braced his foot against the guardrail as he yanked on the back door. When that attempt failed, he jogged off and retrieved a piece of plastic from the side of the road, planning to use it to shatter the window.
However, his attempts failed. Moments later, a Minnesota Department of Transportation truck pulled up and a state official entered the fray.
The flames exploded outwards, forcing the crowd to leap back, with some bystanders falling to the pavement.
As tension heightened, the Department of Transportation worker smashed the glass before the group pulled the man through the window.
They rushed him to safety in their arms, just moments before flames engulfed the driver's side.
Miraculously, the driver did not sustain any serious injuries, according to state officials. He was taken to Regions Hospital for an evaluation.
The crash also started a grass fire that firefighters quickly extinguished.
One man, Kadir Tolla, fetched a piece of plastic from the side of the road and attempted to break the driver's side window
An official from the Minnesota Department of Transportation arrived and smashed the window, allowing the Good Samaritans to pull the driver to safety
The man, seen on video braced in their arms, escaped without any serious injuries but was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated
Tolla described the rescue as 'the scariest moment of my life' and thanked God for the group's survival on Facebook
The scene mirrored a crash on the Long Island Freeway in January 2023, when a group of bystanders rushed to help a woman trapped inside a burning car
'That could be me one day. What would happen if I was in that situation and my life was in the hands of strangers that I don't even know?' Tolla said.
On Facebook, he thanked God for allowing everyone to make it out alive.
The video mirrors a scene from last January, when a car was set ablaze on the Long Island Freeway.
Susan Kaiser-Denise, 56, was heading down the highway when her Jeep Liberty hit a center median and flipped on its side, catching on fire.
Witnesses jumped into action, stopping their own cars in the middle of the busy freeway to help.
The woman was on fire inside the car, officials said.
Video shows the woman's clothes burning as she lies on the ground after being pulled from the vehicle. She was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Despite the grim scene, Kaiser-Denise survived, according to a GoFundMe campaign.
She underwent skin grafts and a tracheostomy before she was transferred to another hospital to undergo weeks of intensive physical therapy.
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