Good Samaritans rescue kitten seen running across 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (KABC) -- An off-duty first responder, a retired lieutenant and an animal rescue volunteer teamed up to save a kitten after it ran in the middle of the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar and got caught in a car engine's compartment.

The incident occurred on Sunday when Cathy Chang saw the kitten running across the freeway and pulled over to help the frightened critter. The kitten, however, went underneath Chang's car and became ensnared in the engine compartment.

Chang, an animal rescue volunteer, even tried luring the kitten out with cat food she had in her car to no avail.

When Lt. Minh Dinh, a 31-year veteran of LA County Sheriff's Department, and his spouse, Jenny Ha, a retired LASD lieutenant, saw Chang on the side of the freeway, they pulled over to help find the trapped kitten.

Once Dinh, a self-proclaimed "weekend mechanic," realized the kitten was caught in the engine compartment, he saved it by lifting up the car with a jack, unscrewing the bottom panel that connected the undercarriage to the bumper and reached behind the grill.

The Ontario Rescue in Montclair then arrived and took care of the kitten.