A woman trapped inside an overturned, burning car on Highway 70 in Sutter County was pulled free by two off-duty California State Parks officers who happened to be driving by early Friday morning. The vehicle rolled about 10 feet down an embankment and caught fire with the driver trapped inside, according to Sutter County Fire. Moments after the rescue, the car was fully engulfed in flames.
The crash happened a little after 6:30 a.m. on the southbound Nicolaus Avenue offramp, according to officials cited by CBS Sacramento. The two California State Parks officers were on their way to a training class when they spotted smoke rising from the embankment and pulled over to help, the California Highway Patrol said. Fox40 reports that fire crews were separately dispatched to the rollover to rescue the woman, and that the vehicle was found burning roughly 10 feet below an embankment near the East Nicolaus off-ramp at around 6:45 a.m.
Officers Pulled Her Through a Broken Window
The officers first tried to extinguish the fire themselves using extinguishers, but the flames kept spreading into the passenger compartment, according to CBS Sacramento. As the woman crawled toward the rear of the overturned vehicle, one of the officers pulled her out through a broken window. Within moments, the entire car was consumed by fire.
The woman suffered burns and was taken to a hospital for treatment, though her condition had not been released as of the report. Fox40's account of the incident similarly notes that the victim endured burns and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation, though neither outlet has named the facility or confirmed her current status. Sutter County authorities have not said what caused the vehicle to roll off the highway.
State Parks Officers Carry Authority Statewide
State Parks Officers Carry Authority Statewide The rescue underscores a detail about how California State Parks peace officers are trained: according to California State Parks, sworn State Parks peace officer cadets are designated with authority that extends statewide, whether they are on or off duty. The two officers intervened while off duty.
A similar scenario played out in neighboring El Dorado County, where four first responders who happened to be nearby rescued a woman from a burning vehicle, pulling the driver out before the car became fully engulfed in flames, Fox40 reported. Fire crews arriving afterward found that vehicle already consumed by fire. The El Dorado County Fire Protection District said the group's actions saved the driver's life, and the injured woman was taken by car and then helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, though her condition was not made public. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of that crash as well.
