Sleeping Man Pulled From Burning Car By Good Samaritan In Parsippany: Cops

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – A man who fell asleep behind the wheel of his parked car was pulled to safety by a Good Samaritan when his vehicle caught fire, Parsippany police said.

At 5:28 p.m. Monday, Parsippany police received a 9-1-1 call reporting a man sleeping inside a car that had its engine revving and was on fire in a parking lot, police said.

When officers arrived to the Route 10 location, they found a witness had already assisted the victim out of the 2003 Saab. The victim was later identified as Joseph Gerhard, 22, police said.

Gerhard was taken to Saint Clare’s Hospital for treatment of possible smoke inhalation, police said.

Par-Troy EMS, Mount Tabor Fire Department, and Denville and Morris Plains police all responded to the scene.

The Good Samaritan is Nicolas Limanov of Parsippany.

Limanov, an employee at Kafe Mozart in the mall where the incident took place, said he saw the smoke and ran quickly to pull the man from the vehicle with assistance from others.

“He attempted to return to the vehicle several times,” Limanov said, “but I kept him away because fuel was leaking and it was seconds from exploding.”

Photo Credit: Anthony Desperito