By Police1 Staff
BELTON, Mo. — Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Thuss is being praised for his courageous quick-thinking when he responded to the scene of a fiery collision, The Kansas City Star reported.
Thuss is being called a hero for his rescue of 60-year-old driver Becky Crawford from her Honda Civic right before it burst into flames.
“I’ve worked enough crashes to know that if there’s fire already, the whole vehicle eventually will go up,” Thuss told the publication. “I just hoped I could get her out of there in time.”
Dash cam video captured the incident. A speeding driver ran a stoplight and struck Crawford.
“It was a pretty spectacular impact,” Thuss said. “There was an instant fireball towards the back of the vehicle and a big plume of smoke after that. There was the aftermath of the crash of some vehicle parts in the air with the smoke.”
When Thuss approached the vehicle, he noticed fire along the driver’s side of the vehicle. He climbed inside and pulled Crawford out. An off-duty Johnson County deputy assisted the trooper in the save.
Ron Crawford thanked Thuss for saving his wife’s life.
“I thanked him because he risked his life to save the life of my wife,” he said to the news site. “There’s no question in my mind that if he had not taken that action, she would not be with us today. He had only seconds to rescue her and he did. He’s a genuine hero.”
Crawford suffered major injuries but was expected to be released from a hospital this week and transferred to a rehabilitation facility.
Belton police arrested the speeding driver, 23-year-old Benjamin W. Clark, who smelled of marijuana and was found with methamphetamine. Clark was charged with resisting arrest and leaving the scene of an accident.