Woman Honked Horn After She Was Trapped in Burning Car. Then Heroic Cop Rushed to Free Her
“I didn’t want to die,” said survivor Asharie Montgomery
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David Chiu is a staff writer, Human Interest, for PEOPLE. A former PEOPLE intern from 2007 to 2008, he has been writing about news and entertainment for over 10 years.
NEED TO KNOW
- An Arizona police officer pulled Asharie Montgomery out of her burning vehicle on Interstate 10 on May 25
- The incident left burns on one-third of Montgomery’s body, and she had to undergo multiple surgeries and skin grafts
- Montgomery said that she switched her major at Arizona State University from physical therapy to psychology so she could help others
An Arizona State University student is speaking out after she was momentarily trapped in her burning car before a police officer rescued her.
“I’ve never felt that kind of heat where it’s so hot that it feels cold, like ice cold,” Asharie Montgomery told ABC affiliate KNXV. “I didn’t want to die, so that already encouraged me to stay positive and think of ways to get out.”
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of May 25 when a nearby Goodyear police officer noticed a multi-vehicle collision, with one vehicle fully covered in flames near 91st Avenue and Interstate 10.
“Inside that burning vehicle, a lone female driver was honking her horn, desperately signaling for help,” the Goodyear Police Department stated in a news release at the time. “Without hesitation, our officer sprang into action. Smashing through the driver’s side window, he pulled the woman, who hair was on fire, from the vehicle.”
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“He courageously worked to extinguish the flames, sustaining serious burns in the process, before finally using a fire extinguisher to douse the remaining fire,” police continued.
The woman, later identified as Montgomery, then 18, was rescued and taken to a burn center in critical condition, authorities said. The police officer suffered burns but was expected to make a full recovery.
“His courage and quick thinking undoubtedly saved a life that night,” officials said of the heroic police officer.
In an email shared with PEOPLE on Friday, Dec. 14, about the May 25 incident, the Arizona Department of Public Safety stated that a gray Honda SUV rear-ended a black Nissan passenger car, causing it to burst into flames. Four people were injured, including Montgomery, and all of them were taken to the hospital.
“The Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Highway Patrol Division troopers conducted the investigation,” the department said in a statement.
“The woman driving the Honda SUV was cited for failing to control the vehicle to avoid a collision,” the DPS continued.
Police bodycam footage shared by the Goodyear Police Department showed the intensity of the flames from Montgomery’s burning vehicle.
Montgomery was trapped in her vehicle, so she honked her horn.
“I was like honking my horn because I didn’t know what else to do. I can’t break the window,” Montgomery told KNXV.
That was when the officer, later identified as Dakota Berry, came to her aid.
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Montgomery suffered burns on a third of her body, mostly on the left side, KNXV reported. She underwent multiple surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help with Montgomery’s medical expenses and recovery. As of Friday, the campaign has raised about $52,000.
“She is only 18, full of life, ambition, and strength,” the fundraiser description read. “Just this year, she proudly finished her freshman year at ASU, with dreams and goals of pursuing a career as a physical therapist. Those dreams now have to be put on hold as we focus on the most important mission — her healing.”
Ironically, Montgomery’s father is a Goodyear firefighter, the police department noted.
Montgomery expressed gratitude to Berry and God for helping her survive. She told KNXV that she has switched her major at ASU from physical therapy to psychology so she could help others following her ordeal.
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“I want to be the person that people can talk to,” she says, “like a therapist, about anything their hearts desire, and also have the belief and faith that everything is going to be OK because that’s what I kept wanting to know, like is everything going to be OK.”
N.J. Officers Save Mother, Son from Burning Van and Live Wires
An elderly woman and her son owe their lives to a detective and two officers from the Ewing (N.J.) Police Department who risked electrocution to extract the two from their crashed van.
Melanie Basich・Managing Editor
June 21, 2012
Officer Jeff Caldwell, Officer Fred Dow, and Det. Michael Pellegrino.
4 min to read
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An elderly woman and her son owe their lives to a detective and two officers from the Ewing (N.J.) Police Department who risked electrocution to extract the two from their crashed van. For their efforts, Det. Michael Pellegrino and Officers Jeff Caldwell and Fred Dow have been named the June 2012 Officers of the Month by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “We knew we had to do something, never realizing what the outcome could’ve been,” says Det. Michael Pellegrino.
Temporarily disoriented by extreme glare from the sun, an elderly man crashed his passenger van into a pole on the afternoon of Jan. 18. The driver was able to exit the vehicle, but his octogenarian wife and their adult special-needs son were still inside. The pole and the major electrical transformer attached to it had fallen along the passenger side of the vehicle, blocking their exit. Because she had broken her leg in the crash, the woman could not move herself. The son seemed not to understand the gravity of the situation.
The call went out to the Ewing (N.J.) Police Department, and Det. Michael Pellegrino was less than a mile away where he’d just finished his shift in an unmarked car. He reached the scene just after Officer Jeff Caldwell in his marked unit, followed by Officer Fred Dow. They evaluated the situation to determine the best course of action, considering the downed transformer and the power line humming loudly lying on top of the smoking van. Caldwell had notified the fire department and electric company, but they were still en route.
“When we arrived, the driver had already exited the vehicle, so Jeff and I knew we had a little bit of time because even with the wires on the car he was able to get out and he didn’t perish right there,” says Pellegrino.
Using this information, Caldwell, who had been an apprentice linesman servicing power lines, reasoned they should remove the victims, even though it’s dangerous whenever a wire is touching a vehicle. “Otherwise we and the people that had gathered there were going to watch the victims perish in the car,” says Pellegrino. “There’s no time to think. On this job you have to be smart but take educated risks.”
Caldwell retrieved a Halligan tool from his patrol vehicle to break the driver’s window and then was able to manually unlock the doors from the inside. All three assisted in removing the female passenger through the driver’s side door. They then also helped the couple’s adult son out of the van, and took both victims to a grassy area on the side of the road.
Just 30 seconds after they reached safety, a series of explosions started in the van, and it started to blaze.
“We didn’t realize at that time that there were actually 13,000 volts going from wire to wire draped across the van,” Pellegrino says. “It was only a one in 1 million chance that we weren’t going to die as soon as we touched the vehicle.” It’s believed the van’s still fully intact rubber tires grounded the vehicle, providing the protection they needed to safely retrieve the victims.
“It definitely gives you a different perspective of the job because it makes you appreciate what you’ve done…not be heroic, but be able to prolong somebody’s life because of what you’ve done,” says Pellegrino. He’s thankful that Officers Caldwell and Dow were there, and is proud that they were able to work together to create the best possible outcome. All three officers received their department’s medal of honor in addition to other accolades from local organizations.
Pellegrino says recognition from the NLEOMF is particularly special to him because for 10 years he has participated in the Police Unity Tour bicycle ride across the northeast of the United States to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. for Police Week.
“Every year I look at the NLEOMF officers of the month and hear them reading out their stories,” says Pellegrino. “Now to be one of those people, and be recognized with those other officers from across the country, I’m honored. You can’t even imagine how it feels to be that person.”
