By Suzie Ziegler
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Dramatic video shows the moment a San Jose cop jumped into action to save a man’s life on Sunday. In the video, rookie officer Pedro Garcia is seen tugging a man from a burning car.
“I just believe I was in the right place at the right time,” Garcia told ABC 7. “I know any other of my partners or anyone in the department would’ve done the same exact thing. Speaking to the fire department, they said if I would not have done that, it could’ve been life-threatening for him.”
Garcia says he was just driving by when saw the car on fire.
“It’s happened out of nowhere and I just knew his life was at risk and the first thing that was going through my mind was, ‘get him out of the vehicle’ before it was just covered in flames,” Garcia said.
The driver was taken to a hospital, but Garcia wasn’t injured, according to the report.
San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata praised the young officer, who had been on the job only eight months.
“His dedication, not only to his work, but to his community is amazing,” Mata told ABC 7. “He’s from San Jose, born and raised here. He is the ultimate of what we expect of our officers to give back to our community and that’s what he did.”