Two young officers in Blue Mound are being hailed as heroes after they jumped into action to pull a man from his burning car.
“I remember telling him, we need to go. We need to get there right now,” said Officer Luis Aguilar.
When the call came in at 4:57 a.m. on Wednesday, October 29, Aguilar and Officer Bryant Ochoa responded in seconds.
They said they knew the man trapped inside a burning car at Glenn Drive and Waggoman Road had mere minutes to live.
“Whenever we got there, I remember us trying to figure out where he was. So I remember getting to the driver’s side first, and then I hear this noise of someone trying to kick the passenger side window, and that’s whenever he and I ran to the passenger side and I used a tool to break the window,” said Aguilar.
Body camera footage shows the officers pulling the panicked driver to safety.
Nearly a month later, the pavement at the intersection is still scorched.
Fire officials say the cause was an electrical problem that may have also trapped the driver inside.
“It was a very intensive fire. It quickly moved from the engine compartment into the passenger compartment and actually ended up catching the gas tank on fire,” said Fire Chief Jason Wood.
Wood said it’s a reminder for all drivers to carry a window punch, the same $10 tool Aguilar used that morning to save a life.
Blue Mound city leaders will recognize both officers for their heroic actions later this month.
Both are rookies.
Ochoa is still in training.
Still for them, it’s simple.
“You know, we signed up to save people in time of need. And this is a time of need,” said Ochoa.
They were just doing their job.
“I feel grateful that I chose this profession,” said Aguilar.
Blue Mound police say after that incident, the community rallied to make sure every officer is equipped with a window punch.