Cop, Passerby Rescue Man From Fiery Crash In South Brunswick (Video)

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A South Brunswick Police officer and a passerby pulled a driver out of a burning car on Thursday morning.

Around 3:52 a.m., a crash was reported between two vehicles on Route 1 near Ridge Road. South Brunswick Police received a 911 call reporting the car crash. As officers were responding, a second caller reported one of the vehicles was on fire.

Officer Daniel Stoddard arrived within minutes to find a seriously injured 50-year-old Hamilton man lying on the highway not far from his 2021 Jeep Wrangler that was fully engulfed in flames, police said.

A passing motorist, Haseeb Mehmood of Old Bridge had stopped to help the injured driver and along with Stoddard, dragged the man to safety.

After moving the driver to safety, Stoddard went to the second vehicle a 2015 Honda, and evaluated the 40-year-old female driver who was also injured.

According to a preliminary investigation, both vehicles were headed northbound on Route 1 when they made contact. The contact forced the Jeep off the shoulder of the roadway into a tree. The Honda came to rest in the right lane of the highway.

“The driver had a serious leg injury and was unable to get any further away from the fire. I want to thank the citizen who stopped, Hasseb Mehmood, for getting involved and making a difference. His actions, along with Officer Daniel Stoddard, prevented further injury to the driver," Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said.

Monmouth Junction First Aid and South Brunswick EMS took both drivers to area hospitals from treatment. Kingston Fire Department extinguished the car fire.

South Brunswick Police continue to investigate the crash. Route 1 northbound was closed for an hour. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Officer Austin Haren at (732) 329-4646.

South Brunswick Police shared dramatic body camera footage from the scene.

Watch the video here: