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Good Samaritans saved the lives of two young ladies this past Saturday when they pulled them from their burning car after the vehicle crashed and burst into flames.

Witnesses to the crash revealed they heard the crash happen around 10 a.m. It is believed the driver lost control and hit a tree, causing the vehicle to erupt into flames. The ferocity of the impact left the girls pinned inside the burning wreckage. James Sanders, who had been traveling behind them on the road, stopped and helped. He was able to get the driver out and move her to a safe place should the car explode. However, the passenger was hopelessly stuck under the dash.

About that time, an 11-year-old boy named Weston Angelo heard the loud crash and told his father, Zachary Angelo who hurried to the scene of the burning crash. Angelo is an employee of AEDC and happened to be a former EMT.

“Zach found the young man (friend of the girls who had helped the driver to safety) trying to pull the trapped lady from the passenger seat of the car with its front engine compartment engulfed in flames,” revealed Angelo’s father, Jack Angelo, noting his son accessed the burning car from the rear driver side door. “He got down to her feet he found that her feet were pinned under the dashboard when caved in when the car hit the tree. He spent some time trying to free her as the flames started getting bigger and hotter and the young lady was starting to become hysterical. Zach was able to free her pinned legs and pulled her out of the car.”

The two victims were then moved to a safe location away from the burning car. They were later airlifted from the scene by a pair of medical helicopters which made their landing nearby.

While lives were saved as result of the courageous work of the Good Samaritans, Zach Angelo said if it hadn’t been for the alarm raised by his 11-year-old son, things could have turned out much worse.

The young-man friend and others credit Zachary quick actions with saving the life of the trapped passengers because within minutes the entire vehicle was engulfed in flames,” Jack Angelo said. “Zachary said had it not been for his son bringing it to his attention a response would not have happened and credits Weston for his quick actions and gives credit to the friend and the response of local first responders for their efforts.”

The crash report on the accident remains pending following completion of the investigation.