NORTH BRUNSWICK – Due to the quick actions of a North Brunswick police officer and a group of people who responded after the accident, the lives of two women were saved during a car fire.
Officer Anthony Torres was on patrol around 3 p.m. on Oct. 24, traveling on Route 130 approaching Finnegans Lane.
He noticed an auto collision with smoke coming from the vehicle. He turned around and approached the scene to find that several witnesses were also pulling over, according to information provided by the North Brunswick Police Department, as well as footage from his body camera.
Torres exited his patrol car as the engine compartment was showing visible fire. He returned to his vehicle momentarily to retrieve a knife, then ran to the vehicle that was still occupied by two females, according to the footage.
The driver of the 2001 Honda SUV was disoriented, while the passenger was frantic to get out of the vehicle, according to the statement. Both females were pinned in the car. Torres cut the driver from her seatbelt, and with the help of a good Samaritan, bent the door frame in order to make room to get them out. The passenger was able to get out through the window and get to safety, according to the camera footage.
In a subsequent interview, Torres said at the time he thought, “I really [have to] grab a knife and cut the seatbelt off because there was airbag deployment. … I saw [the driver] was in pain. I saw the passenger. I just knew we had to get her out of there.”
As the flames were getting worse, Torres removed the driver through the window and dragged her to safety and waited with her until the arrival of FIRE/EMS. The vehicle was engulfed in flames a very short time later, according to the statement.
“I was happy to see everybody was OK and everyone was safe, and no one was in the vehicle,” he said.
Torres was quick to mention that the other drivers and residents who lived near the scene sprung into action as well, saying, “They deserve as much credit as me, if not more” because for him, it is his job, but they helped someone they didn’t know.
“To me, it’s not a big deal; to me it’s just work,” said Torres, who served with the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office for about a year before being hired in North Brunswick in 2015.
Torres, who always wanted to be a cop while growing up in North Brunswick, and who said he was mentored by a retired North Brunswick officer, said he has been on a couple of calls that have been “hairy” during his career, but he feels well prepared because of his training.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen. This one just worked out well. … When you wear the uniform you don’t know what to expect. Every day is so different,” he said. “Every day I come to work, I’m learning. But definitely part of it is an adrenaline rush.”
Torres was not injured during the ordeal. The driver spent a couple days in the hospital. The results of the investigation were not known as of press time.
Contact Jennifer Amato at [email protected].