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Colo. Trooper Pulls Man From Burning Car Just Before It Explodes

Drivers Report Seeing Car Travel Wrong Way On I-25

ABC7-TV News, Denver

A Colorado State Patrol trooper is being hailed as a hero Tuesday after he and two other people rescued a trapped Fort Collins driver inside a burning car.

Trooper R. Ertman was called to Interstate 25 just north of Fort Collins at 4:45 a.m. Sunday on the report that a car was traveling south on the northbound lanes.

When he arrived on scene, Ertman found a produce-towing semitrailer in the center median and a 1994 Honda Civic on fire.

Ertman and the two other people pulled the injured driver -- 20-year-old Kacey Wittie -- from the burning vehicle. When they extracted him, Wittie’s legs were still on fire, the CSP said.

Moments later, the car exploded and was deemed a total loss.

The driver of the semitrailer, J.D. Esquibel, 47, of Longmont, was not injured.

Troopers are investigating the crash and why Wittie’s vehicle was traveling the wrong way. It is not known if drugs or alcohol were involved.

Wittie’s condition has not been released.