Two heroic men who pulled a driver to safety following a fiery car crash in North Hollywood say there was no hesitation in their brave actions.
Kevin Sullivan and Wilmer Hernandez, both workers of Circus Liquor, were on the clock Tuesday afternoon when they suddenly heard a loud noise. Just outside their store, they saw a Hyundai EV had crashed into a power pole, causing it to catch fire. The driver of the vehicle was still inside, so the two men swooped in to help.
“It ignited, I rushed over and pried the door open and took him out of the burning vehicle,” Sullivan said.
“We pulled him out of the car and he was kind of unconscious, that guy,” Hernandez said. “And then that’s how we just pulled him out.”
Surveillance footage captured the nerve-rattling rescue.
The video shows heavy smoke coming from the car, as well as a small fire coming from it. Hernandez is seen trying to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher, then he and Sullivan are seen going to the driver’s side door, guiding the driver to a safe part of the parking lot, along with a woman who was nearby.
Shortly after the rescue, the flames coming from the car grew, fully engulfing it. In the chaos, power lines toppled due to the crash, creating a more dangerous situation.
Still, Hernandez and Sullivan said they wouldn’t have done anything different since they were able to help save a life.
“The electrical wires came down and after the fact, someone said, ‘You know, you guys could have been electrocuted,’ and I didn’t think. I just ran.
“After it happened, we thought, ‘Yeah, we could have gotten hurt, too,’ but at the moment, we just did what was right,” Hernandez said.
“It’s what you’re supposed to do, you know? You’re supposed to help people,” Sullivan said.