Heart-stopping moment Good Samaritans save man from blazing car after it erupted in huge inferno on a major highway in Minnesota
Dashcam video has revealed the moment good Samaritans came to the aid of a man whose car was set on fire on a Minnesota highway, pulling him to safety seconds from certain death.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the man’s Honda went off the road on I-94 near Snelling Avenue, struck a lamppost and burst into flames Thursday around 6:30 p.m.
Video captures the harrowing rescue of the driver, an elderly man, as several other motorists abandoned their vehicles on the side of the highway.
Kadir Tolla was one of them. He was on his way to work in St. Paul when he came across the burning car shortly after the crash and suspected the driver was trapped inside.
‘It was like the scariest moment of my life. This is something I will never forget. I will always remember this,” Tolla said VOS9.
Dashcam video captured the moment Good Samaritans pulled a driver from his burning car on a Minnesota highway
According to state officials, the Honda left the road on I-94 on Thursday evening, struck a lamppost and burst into flames.
A group of bystanders rushed to the car and tried to smash the windows as the flames grew
Dashcam footage shows Tolla, wearing a gray shirt and white sneakers, joining several other witnesses as they tried to pry open the doors.
Tolla braced his foot against the guardrail as he yanked on the back door. When that attempt failed, he ran and grabbed a piece of plastic from the side of the road, intending to shatter the window.
However, his attempts failed. Moments later, a Minnesota Department of Transportation truck pulled up and a state official joined the fray.
The flames exploded outward, forcing the crowd to jump back, with some bystanders falling to the sidewalk.
As tension mounted, the Department of Transport worker smashed the glass before the group pulled the man through the window.
They carried him to safety in their arms just before the flames engulfed the driver’s side.
Miraculously, the driver suffered no serious injuries, according to state officials. He was taken to the Regional Hospital for evaluation.
The crash also started a grass fire that firefighters quickly extinguished.
One man, Kadir Tolla, grabbed a piece of plastic from the side of the road and tried to break the driver’s side window
A Minnesota Department of Transportation officer arrived and smashed the window, allowing Good Samaritans to get the driver to safety
The man, seen on video with his arms pinned down, escaped without serious injuries but was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
Tolla described the rescue as “the scariest moment of my life” and thanked God for the group’s survival on Facebook
The scene mirrors an accident on the Long Island Freeway in January 2023, when a group of bystanders rushed to help a woman trapped in a burning car.
‘That could be me one day. What would happen if I was in that situation and my life was in the hands of strangers I don’t even know?’ Tolla said.
On Facebook he thanked God for giving everyone the chance to get out alive.
The video echoes a scene from last January, when a car was set on fire on the Long Island Freeway.
Susan Kaiser-Denise, 56, was driving along the highway when her Jeep Liberty struck a median, flipped onto its side and burst into flames.
Witnesses sprang into action and stopped their own cars in the middle of the busy highway to help.
The woman was on fire in the car, officials said.
Video shows the woman’s clothes burning as she lies on the ground after being pulled from the vehicle. She was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Despite the grim scene, Kaiser-Denise survived, according to a GoFundMe campaign.
She underwent skin grafts and a tracheostomy before being transferred to another hospital for weeks of intensive physiotherapy.