The moments after the fiery crash off the Grand Central Parkway on March 22 were captured on police body camera footage and it instantly became a life-or-death situation.
State Trooper Gerandy Mercado saw three passengers trapped inside the burning car and jumped into action.
"We obviously heard the screaming, they were yelling to get us to get them out, just asking for help," Mercado said.
Officers said they didn't know how much time they had so they had to act fast.
NYPD Officer Pawel Wala and his partner, who happened to be driving by, jumped in to help. They smashed the car's windows to get the jammed doors open.
"I started telling them, get out, get out of the car," Wala said. "The people in the car were like, 'oh, we can't, I can't.' One of the girls had her hands broken and we started pulling on her just to get her out of the car."
The officers were finally able to drag the three trapped and injured passengers out of the burning car.
The entire rescue unfolded in a matter of minutes.
"It's always life over limb in these situations -- you want to save the life before trying to assist of the bones that are broken," Wala said.
The driver and three passengers - two of whom were teens - suffered injuries including broken bones but all will survive.
Now the officers are being called heroes - but it's a label they resist.
"We signed up for the dangers of this job, and it's not just enforcement, you know, we're first responders," Mercado said. "We're expected to do this stuff. So all the people telling me I'm a hero -- I'm just a person."
Wala agreed.
"I'm just a person that showed up and helped out in this situation," Wala said. "And I believe anyone would have jumped in and helped out those people out of the car."
The driver, 20-year-old Mohammad Haque, was arrested by state police and arraigned at his hospital bedside.
He broke both legs in the crash and faces several charges, including three counts of 2nd degree assault.
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