Off-Duty Security Guard Pulls Man From Burning Car

An off-duty security guard rescued an unconscious driver from a burning Jeep that crashed into the woods on the Long Island Expressway service road in Ronkonkoma yesterday, officials said.

The driver, a 29-year-old man, swerved off road to avoid another vehicle, hit a tree and caught fire around 5:15 p.m.

The security guard, Joseph Desena, 30, told Newsday he hit the front window of the burning car with a tire iron about 20 times "before throwing a jack with all his might into the back window," which shattered it.

The driver was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. The vehicle was fully engulfed by the time police had arrived.

The Suffolk County Police Department and Lakeland Fire Department responded to the scene.

Photos/video by Bryan Lopez