County Police Officer Rescues Elderly Woman from Burning Car

Westchester County Police Officer Christian Gutierrez, and a HELP truck driver, came to the rescue of an elderly woman in a burning car Thursday afternoon on the Sprain Brook Parkway between Valhalla and Elmsford, according to the department.

As flames roared under the hood and were spreading fast, Gutierrez and the operator of HELP truck forced open the door of the crumpled car and pulled the woman to safety just moments before the vehicle was consumed by fire.

“The quick and brave actions of Officer Gutierrez and the HELP truck operator certainly saved this woman’s life,” said Commissioner George N. Longworth in a statement.

The woman’s identity was not disclosed by county police, but she is said to be in her 80s. She was conscious when she was transported to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, but Gutierrez told The Journal News that she was drifting in and out of consciousness before he pulled her from the car.

Gutierrez was traveling southbound on the Sprain Brook Parkway at about 4:10 p.m. when he was flagged down by several motorists south of the Eastview exit, according to county police. They told him that they had just seen a car go off the road, through a guiderail and down an embankment near Grasslands Road.

He was able to speak with the woman when flames began to shoot out from under the hood.

Gutierrez had requested assistance to extricate the woman from the damaged vehicle but realized there would be no time to wait, according to county police. So he and the HELP truck operator, who had arrived at the scene, began a frantic effort to force open the door and remove her before flames spread into the passenger compartment.

Moments after removing her, the fire spread and the car was soon fully engulfed by fire.

The cause of the accident is under investigation by New York State Police, which has primary jurisdiction on the Sprain Brook Parkway.

Photo credit: Shutterstock