CHP officer saves man from burning car wreck near Big Bear

BIG BEAR, Calif. (KABC) -- A California Highway Patrol officer is being hailed a hero for pulling a driver out of a wrecked vehicle moments before flames engulfed it.

Wallace Henderson was on his way home to Sugarloaf on Tuesday. He was driving on Highway 38 just below Onyx Summit, when he lost control of his Subaru and went over the edge.

"This happens in seconds, just boom, boom, boom, and I'm over the side," Henderson said.

Moments later, his car caught on fire.

"Things are going on in my head like, 'I got to get out of here,'" Henderson said.

But he was trapped. The side air bags deployed and blocked access to the door handles. Smoke started filling the cab.

Not long after Henderson went over the edge, a CHP officer just happened to be driving by. Officer Jason Holzberger saw the smoke and realized something was wrong.

"I could see the hood was up and there were flames coming out of the engine compartment," Holzberger said.

Holzberger moved down to the car - about 25 feet down the side of the hill - and opened the door. Henderson remembers the officer's urgency.

"The officer is standing there, saying, 'Get out of here! This thing is gonna blow!'"

Holzberger was able to get Henderson to safety. Moments later, the car was engulfed in flames.

"If he wasn't able to get out of the vehicle, it definitely would have taken his life," Holzberger said.

When asked if he felt like a hero, Holzberger responded: "I don't really feel like a hero, but the way everyone's been treating me, I guess I kind of feel like one."