OC Sheriff's Deputy Saves Man From Burning Taxi In Yorba Linda
YORBA LINDA (CBSLA.com) — An Orange County sheriff's deputy saved a 49-year-old man from a burning car last Thursday in Yorba Linda—and it was all captured on camera.
Deputy Shayne Stiefel and a trainee were on patrol around 2:35 a.m. near Clydesdale Avenue and Bastanchury Road when they came upon a taxi, which appeared to have been involved in some type of accident.
The undercarriage of the vehicle was smoking and flames were coming out of the front-end.
Stiefel screamed for the driver to get out of the cab.
Unbeknownst to the deputy, however, the victim was in an acute medical emergency and was unable to help himself. His foot was on the gas pedal and the deputies couldn't see his left hand.
Stiefel was forced to pull out his gun due to the victim's strange behavior.
"It appeared he was trying to flee the scene initially. His actions of trying to light a cigarette while I'm ordering him to get out of the car, and the car is clearly engulfed in flames," he said.
Seconds before the cab exploded, Stiefel knew he had to make his move.
"I cut his seatbelt off, grabbed his left hand and dragged him out of the car," he said. "Anybody in my position would have done the same thing. I just happened to be there first."
