Santa Ana good Samaritan saves 2 men from burning car

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A good Samaritan rushed from his home to pull two men from a car after it crashed into a ditch in Santa Ana on Saturday.

Authorities said the crash happened at the intersection of Fairview Street and Dahl Lane at about 2 a.m.

The car ripped through a fence before coming to a stop in the ditch.

"All I heard was a very loud crash through the back, it wasn't like a normal accident because usually they just hit the bottom rail," Edgar Vasquez recalled.

Vasquez lives nearby and ran out of bed when he heard the crash. He said people frequently crash on the street, but he knew this crash was different.

"(They were) not responding, not letting go of the brake, not letting go of the accelerator, just hearing the wheels spinning, I thought they were unconscious," Vasquez described.

The 27-year-old said two men were inside of the smoking car so he jumped the fence, busted a window and began pulling them out. Vasquez's father recorded the chaotic scene.

"He was able to get up and (I) pulled him out from there," Vasquez said. "The second guy, we yelled at him, and he actually did get up, but he was stuck so we had to pull him out."

Vasquez said both men were in shock. Moments after Vasquez got the men to safety, he said he heard small explosions before the car burst into flames.

"I was just trying to help the guys out, that's all that was going through my head," Vasquez said.

The driver and passenger escaped with minor injuries and were treated for smoke inhalation. Santa Ana police said drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash.

Vasquez said he was shying away from people calling him a hero.

"I mean I think I did what anyone else would do," he said.