GROTON, Conn. — An off-duty New London police officer and two other men pulled a man from a wrecked car after a deadly crash and fire on the Gold Star Memorial Bridge.
Lt. Cornelius Rogers and two others pulled a man from the back of the car after the crash. The cell phone video shows the moments the group jumped into action.
“I see a gentleman running with a cell phone towards a car that I can tell immediately there was a wreck, the gentleman opens the door car and she's screaming my father get my father and my father. I looked in the car because my training experience kicked in,” said Rogers.
He noticed the man was unresponsive. The video shows him running to the other side of the car to try and pull him out, but the car was too damaged to take him out from that side so Rogers goes back to the other side of the car.
“I could tell his leg was kind of pinned due to the damage and I needed to make a decision if I was going to leave him there or pull him out. But then I started to notice that the flames were getting closer,” said Rogers.
He decides to pull the man out of the car.
Cell phone video shows two other men helping Rogers try and pull the man out of the car.
“Without them I wouldn't have been able to drag this gentleman almost 200 yards away from the vehicle as it was about to be engulfed in flames so they should be also recognized. Only difference between me and those two gentlemen is I wear a badge in a uniform,” said Rogers.
According to Connecticut State Police, the two others injured in Friday’s crash are expected to recover.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.