Witness: Passerby Pulled Crash Victims From Wreck

A number of passerby jumped out their vehicles and ran to the aid of two trapped motorists injured in a fiery head-on crash Tuesday, a witness said.

The crash at 5:09 p.m. Tuesday on Pacific Coast Highway at Tuna Canyon Road resulted in the death of Eriber Lopez, 25, of Los Angeles. The wreck snarled traffic for hours.

Lopez was traveling southbound in a Buick Regal that veered into an oncoming Honda Accord driven by a 46-year-old Oxnard man, said Sgt. Stephanie Shrout of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Malibu/Lost Hills Station.

The Oxnard man was treated for head and back injuries.

John Johannessen, who is on the Board of Directors for the , was on his way to a chamber meeting at Peppderine University when he saw the crash, pulled over, jumped out and ran to the scene.

"Some other drivers also ran up to the burning car, but no one was at the other smoking car. Inside was someone trapped in the smoking car and he was hitting the drivers side window with his feet screaming to help get him out," said Johannessen, who lives in Westlake Village.

He said he was able to help the trapped man out of the car through the window.

"I looked around and saw a bunch of stopped cars but no one was coming to help. He was in hysterics crying "Pull- help- pull!" so I kept pulling and was finally able to get him out through the drivers side window," Johannessen said.

He said he then turned to help four other people helping with the other car, which had burst into flames.

"Meanwhile the fire was getting bigger and while slipping around in engine oil, we kept trying to break glass and get him out. A couple of fire extinguishers appeared from some motorist and were quickly used but the fire kept coming back," Johannessen said.

He added that the group was able to get the man out of his drivers side window and away from the burning car.

"One man said he was a fireman (in plain clothes) and quickly assisted in CPR as another man began assisting with the breathing," he said, adding that emergency crews arrived soon after.   

Scott Leese, who has served nine years with the Malibu Search and Rescue Mountain Team, said that he performed CPR on the 25-year-old man at the scene.

Pacific Coast Highway was closed for several hours, and motorists reported that it took as long as two hours to get home from Santa Monica.