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Bystanders help Georgia officers lift car off trapped 19-year-old

Police body camera footage shows police officers and bystanders lifting an overturned car to allow a trapped driver to escape. (Lawrenceville, Georgia Police Department)

(NewsNation) — Good Samaritans and police officers in Georgia came to the aid of a 19-year-old who was trapped under an overturned car.

The crash occurred Sept. 13 in Lawrenceville, Georgia, shortly after Sgt. Michael Peterson began pursuing a speeding car, according to the Lawrenceville Police Department. Moments later, the officer drove up to an overturned car that he realized was the same one he saw speeding.


The driver of the car was partially ejected from the car’s sunroof and was wedged between the car and road and had trouble breathing, police said.

“He can’t breathe, we’ve got to lift this car up right now,” Peterson is heard saying in body camera footage.

“You and me are gonna lift this car up right now,” Peterson says to a bystander. “Someone get in there and pull him out when we lift it up.”

Footage from the squad car dash cam shows about six or seven people, including other officers, combining efforts to lift the car enough to allow the driver to crawl out.

The 19-year-old suffered several injuries and is being treated at a hospital, police said.

“The actions of the four officers and the good Samaritans likely saved his life,” the department said.