Off-duty OC firefighter saves teenage girls, including daughter, from fiery off-road crash

Two Southern California teenage girls are recovering in the hospital after a fiery off-road vehicle crash. They were with their families in Utah for spring break when the accident happened, leaving them both with severe burns.

The families were several days into their camping and off-roading trip. On April 2, they were traveling in a caravan back to their campsite when conditions became dusty and visibility was limited.

One of the vehicles rolled and erupted in flames. Two of the passengers in that vehicle were 15-year-old Brooklyn Mallett and 14-year-old Elena Pastorino.

"We prayed like we've never prayed before," said Briana Pastorino, Elena's mom.

Briana Pastorino saw flames up ahead of her. She immediately took her son to safety, as several firefighters who were on the trip ran towards the flames, rescuing the passengers and saving their lives.

"I saw my daughter beyond in the distance with a friend and she was crying and screaming like I've never heard her cry before. I went quickly over to her and very scared to touch her because I didn't know where she was burned," Pastorino said.

One of the firefighters who jumped into action was Brooklyn's father, Orange County Fire Authority Captain Mike Mallett.

"Fire Captain Mike Mallett was on vacation with his family in Utah and unfortunately one of the vehicles that was out there off-roading rolled over and experienced a horrific fire and multiple people were injured. His daughter suffering the most extreme injuries," said Chris Hamm, President of the Orange County Professional Firefighters.

The teen girls were taken to a burn center at a hospital in Las Vegas.

"I know their lives were spared because of everything that was done to save them," Pastorino said.

Elena, a freshman at Yucaipa High School who also coaches softball, has second and third degree burns on her face and body. She is preparing for her second surgery this week.

Brooklyn, a freshman and dedicated dancer, has burns covering 40% of her body. She has already undergone surgery and is expected to stay in the hospital for at least two months, followed by extensive recovery and rehabilitation.

"We train every day for emergencies, but we never expect them to happen to us, especially on our day off," Hamm said.

Both families are now trying to navigate long roads of recovery in Las Vegas while also caring for other children back home in California.

GoFundMe pages have been set up for the Mallet and Pastorino family.