Bystander recounts saving man from crashed, burning car in Carbon County
Jun 28, 2023, 10:51 PM | Updated: 11:11 pm
WELLINGTON, Utah — A Good Samaritan is recounting the moments he and other bystanders helped rescue a man trapped inside a burning car in Carbon County last weekend. The Wellington City Fire Department is thanking the quick action of that group of people, for saving the person’s life.
On the main drag through Wellington, a dangerous situation unfolded across the street from Brian Bueno’s house. A car driving through town on Highway 6 crashed into a skid steer parked inside a construction zone, next to a gaping hole several feet deep.
The car stopped short of the hole, after slamming into the construction equipment.
Though, the crash isn’t what got the attention of Brian and his mother.
“I just saw the fire, I’m like: Extinguishers. Get them, try to kill the fire,” Bueno recounted.
Rushing out his front door, Bueno ran across the street with two small fire extinguishers. He explained how four other bystanders had stopped on the road to help. Bueno began to spray the extinguishers as they waited for firefighters to respond.
“Tires were popping. It was just, it came from a small engine fire, to like the entire car being engulfed,” he said, describing the blaze.
Brian Bueno stands where he rescued a man from a crashed, burning car (KSL TV)
The driver safely made it out, but Bueno realized someone was still inside.
“That’s when someone said that there was a passenger stuck on the other side, so I ran to the other side,” he explained.
It was clear the person couldn’t get out on their own.
“They looked like they were slouched a little bit, not unconscious, but very disorientated, dizzy… probably from like hitting the vehicle very hard,” Bueno said.
Another woman ran up to help Bueno. That woman had called her daughter, Brandi Davis– who had already heard about the fire.
“She called me, and she said, ‘Brandi, there’s a car on fire and there’s someone stuck inside,'” Davis recounted. “And my response back to her was, ‘I’m headed to the station. I’m getting a truck.'”
Davis happens to be a volunteer firefighter for the Wellington Fire Department. She was already dispatched to the station for a car crash, but didn’t know until her mom called her that someone was trapped inside a burning vehicle.
“When we arrived on scene, the entire vehicle inside was engulfed in flame,” Davis said.
Firefighters extinguish the blaze after bystanders rescued the car’s passenger (Wellington Fire Department)
Davis and the fire crew found out that her mother and Bueno had already rescued the passenger.
Bueno said he used the fire extinguisher to spray all around the man just enough to buy them a couple seconds to get the door open.
“Once we ripped the door open, we were able to get around him to unbuckle the seatbelt, and then we were able to drag him out,” Bueno recounted.
Firefighters picked things up from there to squash the flames, and care for the passenger. Both the driver and passenger were taken to Castleview Hospital, Davis explained. It’s unclear what their injuries were like, but they are expected to recover.
Davis said the people were from out-of-state and passing through town when they crashed. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
While Bueno doesn’t consider himself a hero, Davis explained how grateful the department was that people didn’t hesitate to help.
“I am glad that I was able to help a little bit,” Bueno said.
“If Brian and my mom and the four other people who were on scene hadn’t stopped to help them, the outcome would have been extremely different for the passenger who was stuck inside,” Davis said.
