CORONA DEL MAR, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) - A group of good Samaritans came to the rescue, risking their own lives, after an SUV crashed in California, trapping a person inside. It was all caught on camera.
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When Mike Ramirez heard the SUV crash into a massive tree in the median along the Pacific Coast Highway, he ran to help.
“It sounded bad,” said Ramirez.
He can be seen in the video wearing a dark muscle tee and shorts.
“My friend Jen actually told me, ‘Mike, you got to go out there. They need your muscles,’" he said.
He says the driver, who can be seen wearing orange in the video, jumped out of the SUV and tried to keep the vehicle from tipping over while the injured passenger was still trapped in the backseat.
Immediately, more than a dozen strangers, some in flip flops or heels, jumped in to help.
“The first thing that came to my mind, and everybody too, was just you want to help. If someone is in need of help, you just run,” Ramirez said.
Despite concerns about the weight of the car or the smoke rising from it, the good Samaritans were able to upright the SUV and pull the passenger out.
Paramedics treated him then loaded him into an ambulance.
"This whole bunch of people just came and started helping. That really got me because we didn't know if they were alive or not, you know. And they were all helping to lift this really heavy car, and everybody was trying for five minutes to get the door open. It was unbelievable,” said witness Patricia Euzarraga.
Three people were in the vehicle at the time of the crash. They are all expected to recover from their injuries.
Courtesy KCAL/KCBS/KCB via CNN Newsource