Intense dashcam shows Texas trooper dragging trapped motorist from fiery vehicle
(Image credit: Texas Dept. of Public Safety)
The Texas Department of Public Safety released dramatic video of a trooper rescuing a trapped motorist from a burning vehicle earlier this month.
Trooper Cody Durham was on a routine patrol, traveling southbound on the Dallas Tollway near Spring Creek Parkway in Plano shortly after 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 9, when he saw smoke rising from a wreck on the northbound side of the highway.
"I took the nearest exit possible and turned around and got there as quick as I could and by the time I arrived the vehicle had caught on fire,” Durham said in a video released by DPS, which also shows his body-camera and dashboard-camera videos from that night.
“Help me,” the motorist can be heard saying as Durham approaches.
"I'm trying," Durham says. "Are you hurt at all?"
Durham can be seen pulling hard to get the trapped motorist out of the vehicle as the flames grow.
“I believe once I started pulling him that that was going to be the only way to get him out, and so I just kept pulling and pulling until we were out of the car,” Durham said later.
Plano EMS transported the driver to Medical City Plano for treatment. The Plano Fire Department extinguished the fire.
Durham was taken to Plano Presbyterian Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, and was released.
“Trooper Durham courageously intervened to save a life, demonstrating the true essence of our commitment to the safety of Texans,” DPS North Texas Regional Director Jeremy Sherrod said in a statement. “His quick thinking and selfless action not only averted tragedy but also reaffirmed our belief in the profound impact that dedicated law enforcement officers have on the lives of those they serve.”
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