A California Highway Patrol officer came to the rescue of a motorist trapped in a burning minivan Monday morning following a crash on state Route 163 in Mission Valley.
The man had just entered the northbound side of the freeway from Friars Road about 7:15 a.m. when he lost control of the 2020 Toyota Sienna he was driving, sending it down an embankment behind a self-storage business, according to CHP.
At the bottom of the slope, the vehicle struck a building, breaking a large hole in it, then caught fire, Officer Stephany Perez, a CHP spokesperson, said.
Arriving to find the minivan engulfed in flames, CHP Officer Steve Reardon hurried down to where it had come to rest on its wheels next to the damaged structure.
“Officer Reardon pushed through the immense heat coming from the vehicle and utilized his (baton) to break the driver-side window,” Perez said. “Officer Reardon then flooded the interior and exterior of the vehicle with a fire extinguisher to keep the fire at bay.”
With the flames subdued in the interior of the vehicle, firefighters were able to free the motorist from the wreckage. Paramedics took him to a hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
The cause of the crash was under investigation, though intoxication was not believed to have been a factor, Perez said.
