OTAY MESA, Calif. (KGTV) — A FedEx driver is being called a hero after stopping to help a man out of a fiery wreck on the I-15 South.
The crash happened just before 3 a.m. on Wednesday. The driver was en route from Riverside to Otay Mesa.
The ABC 10News overnight crew showed up and captured Jonathan Rohrbach pulling a man with serious leg injuries to safety. It appeared he was trapped inside his burning Toyota sedan.
“He’s lucky to be alive!” exclaimed Rohrbach, after examining the remnants of the driver’s side of the car. The video shows a mangled guard rail had impaled part of the door.
Rohrbach stayed with the injured man until first responders arrived. ABC 10News caught up with the FedEx driver hours after the incident.
“The first thing that runs through your head is…there might be someone inside and I need to get them out,” he said.
Reporter Madison Weil replayed video of the scene for Rohrbach, who explained his thought process during those critical moments: “I was trying to see if there was anybody else in the car…using the flashlight on my phone.”
He explains after calling 911, pulling the driver to safety, and sifting through heavy smoke, he was able to determine that no one else was in the car.
If you ask Rohrbach if he believes he saved the man’s life, he won’t call himself a hero. He'll tell you he was simply doing the right thing.
“If it looks like there’s a way to help somebody, you gotta stop and help them,” he said.
CHP has since confirmed the driver is a 28-year-old from San Diego and is expected to survive. Officials say drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash.
