SEMINOLE, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man was caught on camera this week as he rescued a driver trapped inside a burning car.
Travis DuPont, of St. Petersburg, was on his way home from work around 3:30 a.m. Sunday when he saw a flash in the sky. As he got closer, he realized a driver had crashed into a nearby consignment store.
“I ran right to the driver’s window, saw this man unconscious. I reached in, shook him, started yelling at him,” DuPont told Nexstar’s WFLA.
The sound got resident Stephanie Turow out of bed.
“It was extremely loud. It shook my house,” said Turow, who recorded video as Dupont tried to wake up the trapped driver.
“I was like, ‘Hey man, you gotta move your legs, you gotta move your legs,'” said DuPont.
Once he noticed the flames, DuPont knew he had no time to waste.
“He picked him up like a baby,” said Turow, “and, like, just scooped him up and ran all the way over with him. He was absolutely amazing.”
DuPont pulled the driver out with only seconds to spare. He estimated that within 5-10 seconds, the car burst into flames and then exploded.
“If I would have been like even 30 seconds too late, he would’ve been in those flames,” said DuPont.
“It makes me want to cry right now just because it was a very, very scary moment, a very scary moment, and, yeah, he’s very lucky to be alive,” said Turow.
Dupont recalled that police officers said he “did a good job.”
“It was fist bumps all around, and, you know, I felt good about that, getting the compliments from the big guys,” said DuPont.
Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
The 28-year-old driver was taken to the hospital for treatment after the crash. FHP said it is believed the driver was impaired and that charges are likely.