Bodycam shows officer pull man from burning car

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Friday, August 26, 2016
Officer makes dramatic rescue from flaming car
Ken Rosato has details on the dramatic rescue.

ATHENS, GA -- Dramatic video from an officer's body camera shows him saving the life of a man trapping in a burning vehicle.

The video, shared on YouTube by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in Georgia, shows senior officer Dan Whitney encountering an SUV engulfed in flames with a passenger trapped inside.

It appears that the impact bent the vehicle's frame, preventing the officer from opening the door to pull out the trapped man.

Officer Whitney tries furiously to put out the fire with an extinguisher, and is eventually able to bend the door frame enough to pull the man out through the vehicle's rear window. As Officer Whitney pulls the man out, an explosion in the car knocks off his hat and body camera.

Police say the SUV's driver died in the fire.