Videographer rescues man from burning car on 110 Fwy in South LA

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- In a matter of minutes, a news videographer went from covering a story to being a crucial part of the story, as he pulled a man from a burning car on the 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles.

Videographer Austin Raishbrook stopped his vehicle when he saw the dark-colored SUV stalled on the freeway. He turned his emergency lights on to warn oncoming drivers, but one driver didn't see it.

A horrific crash sent the vehicle spinning until it slammed into the median and within seconds, burst into flames.

"I'm not thinking about my own safety," shared Raishbrook. "I knew that if there was someone in there they were in a lot more danger than I was, so I was going to try to do what I could to get them out."

That's when Raishbrook went to help. He grabbed his fire extinguisher and flashlight and ran to the burning car.

He smashed the passenger side window and saw the man slumped over the steering wheel.

"I ran around to the driver's side," he said. "It was kind of crushed up against the center divider, so I had to squeeze in, trying to open the door. I couldn't do it. I tried to smash the window, I wrenched the door open and I got met with flames and smoke."

He said the heat was intense and the driver was buckled in with his seatbelt. Raishbrook figured he only had seconds to get him out.

"I went over the center divider, took a deep breath, went back into the car, managed to pull his shoulder strap off, grab him around the waist and just wrenched him out and dragged him away," he said.

Firefighters arrived just a few seconds later and by then, the car was engulfed in flames.

The driver was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

California Highway Patrol investigators were looking to see if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

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