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HIGHLAND — Lone Peak police officer Austin Williams did all he could to try and pull a 17-year-old boy out of the burning car he was trapped in. But the heat from the flames got too intense and he had to back away.
"It wasn't until I stepped back and couldn't do anything else — that was the most heart-wrenching … when he was screaming and looking at me, yelling at me to help him," Williams recalled Thursday before pausing to collect himself. "And I just had to watch. I felt a human being, being in that much pain and suffering and wishing that I could do something. And him looking to me as the person to save him and not be able to."
But less than 30 seconds later, another police officer arrived with a fire extinguisher in his patrol car. He was able to knock down the flames enough that Williams got a second chance to pull the teenager out. And this time, with the help of three other officers and a citizen who saw what was happening, they were able to rescue the boy.
Today, Williams says he can watch the body camera and dashboard camera videos from that incident with "relief," knowing that they were able to pull the teenager out. Despite already going through several surgeries, the boy is expected to make a full recovery.
The Lone Peak and American Fork police departments held a joint press conference Thursday to talk about the harrowing situation.
Just after midnight on Aug. 8, a 17-year-old boy was driving more than 60 mph on a 30 mph road near Canal Boulevard and the Alpine Highway. Williams, who had just clocked off duty, saw the vehicle and attempted to stop it.
He temporarily lost sight of the car after it ran a red light on the highway. But moments later, as Williams rounded a corner on Canal Boulevard, he saw that the vehicle had missed the turn, gone off the road, crashed head-on into a tree and was on fire.
Williams got out of his patrol car thinking the driver was likely killed on impact from the collision.
"And as I get closer I could hear him screaming and that's when I picked up the pace," he said.
The passenger side of the car was on fire. And the 17-year-old driver, the lone occupant of the vehicle, was repeatedly yelling, "Get me out. Help me, help me!"
Williams described the boy as both in shock and panicking. Due to the damage the car sustained, however, the driver's side door would not open. Williams broke the driver's side window to get air to the teen, but then discovered that the dashboard of the car had collapsed and was pinning the boy's legs, preventing him from being able to crawl out the window.
Williams made several attempts to pull the boy out of the car and pry open his door, but without success.
"There was a point he was being burned by the flames, and so out of reaction he started to flail and actually dislodged his legs somewhat to where he started climbing out of the window partially. And even though the flames were still kind of coming out of his window past his head, his arms were reaching out from the flames. So I actually start to reengage and start pulling him again because I didn't want to leave him," the officer said.
But Williams was forced to eventually back away as the fire picked up intensity and was burning the entire passenger side of the vehicle and moving its way from the rear of the car to the driver's side.
"I had to sit and basically watch this young man be burned and scream for help. And that, I think, was the toughest thing to experience emotionally was to watch anybody go through something like that," he said. "It seemed like a long time. And it's something you see in movies and never see in real life."
But it was just moments later when American Fork police officer Zach Goodale arrived on scene and grabbed a fire extinguisher from his vehicle.
"I don't even remember hearing the sirens approaching until they were, like, within 20 or 30 yards," Williams said.
Lone Peak police officer Dakoda Kinser and American Fork police officer McKay Valadez also arrived on scene and another fire extinguisher was emptied on the burning vehicle.
Landon Waldvogel, 21, was at his girlfriend's house when he saw what was happening and ran barefoot to the scene to help.
"I asked the officer, 'What can I do to help?' And he told me to grab some water. So I just ran inside and started to find a bucket and started assisting as much as I can," he said. "Obviously if I was in that position I'd want as much help from anyone that I could get."
Waldvogel found a five-gallon bucket and made seven trips between his girlfriend's home to the crash — a distance of about 30 to 50 yards — to deliver water.
Police say the combined effort bought them enough time to get the teen out. An officer grabbed a rope and the group was about to tie one end to a patrol car to yank the driver's door off.
"As officer Goodale is moving his patrol car into position to pull the door open, officers Williams, Kinser and McComie were able to open the mangled door with the tow rope," Lone Peak Police Chief Brian Gwilliam said.
The open door gave the officers enough room to rotate the teen's body and slide his legs out. From the time Williams arrived on scene to when the boy was freed was just over five minutes.
The teen was taken to the University of Utah Hospital's Burn Center with mainly second-degree burns over 20% of his body, mostly his back. Williams says the boy has undergone surgeries for that as well as facial injuries including a broken nose, but is expected to make a full recovery.
"We are thankful for the officers and their selfless dedication to the residents of our communities. We are proud of their service and watch in awe as we witness them think outside the box and improvise with the tools they have to free the young man from an intense fire, ultimately saving his life. The quick thinking and bravery of these officers cannot be overstated," Gwilliam said.
The chief also read a statement from the family of the 17-year-old boy who thanked the officers for saving their son's life.
"Please tell all those involved in helping our son thus far of the immense gratitude and respect we have for everyone, which would include the police, fire, medical, nurses, etc. Today is a good day and things are looking up. We are to the point where we can worry about the more trivial things surrounding the accident. We would like to communicate our thanks and gratitude directly to those individuals who have helped up to this point. Thank you!"
