Heroic Police Rescue
Richardson Police Heroically Save Driver Pinned in Burning Car After Crash
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Richardson, Texas police officers saved a man's life in a matter of seconds on the evening of May 28, pulling him from a burning car moments before the vehicle was fully consumed by flames. Body-camera footage released on June 7 shows the harrowing rescue at the intersection of West Campbell Road and the east frontage road of US 75, and the video racked up over 500,000 views in just 24 hours, according to WFAA-TV.
The victim, an unidentified male driving a Nissan Altima, was unconscious and had his leg pinned under a collapsed dashboard while fire spread through the engine. He survived with non-life-threatening injuries and was discharged from the hospital within 48 hours, WFAA-TV reported.
Officers Had Seconds to Act Before Fire Took Over
The crash involved three vehicles — a Subaru Outback, a Nissan Altima, and a Chevrolet pickup — and happened at 9:17 PM. By 9:20 PM, RPD Officer Christopher was on scene. He broke the driver-side window with his baton and tried to drag the man out, according to the Richardson Police Department. But the driver's leg was stuck fast under the crushed dashboard.
At almost the same moment, an off-duty officer from an undisclosed agency stopped after witnessing the crash. He climbed in through the passenger side and manually freed the trapped leg. Together, the two officers and several civilian bystanders carried the driver roughly 50 feet from the car — just before the cabin was fully engulfed, WFAA-TV reported.
RPD Praises Officers as City Prepares Formal Honor
The Richardson Police Department called Officer Christopher's actions a display of "unwavering courage and quick thinking under life-threatening conditions." A department spokesperson told CBS News Texas that "this was a life saved by seconds." The off-duty officer's identity has not been released.
The Richardson City Council is expected to issue a formal commendation at its June 15 session. The rescue echoes a similar incident from February 2019, when RPD Officers Thomas Cline and Brandon Boren pulled two teenagers from a burning stolen van nearby. That rescue prompted a departmental review of fire-extrication training that likely shaped how officers handled the May 28 incident, according to KARE 11.
A Dangerous Intersection and an Ongoing Crash Investigation
The US 75 and Campbell Road corridor sees more than 34,100 vehicles per day, making it one of Richardson's busiest traffic points. The North Texas Council of Governments has flagged this stretch for frequent red-light running. Urban planning advocates argue that high-speed Texas frontage roads create dangerous conditions that put lives — and officers — at risk, according to 12 News.
A Special Crash Investigation is still underway. Cynthia Brown, 67, the identified driver of the Subaru Outback, could face charges of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon if investigators find she was distracted or impaired. Texas averages 10 traffic fatalities per day, according to the TxDOT Safety Portal — a number state officials say they want to cut in half by 2035.
Rescue Sparks Debate Over Police Gear and Road Design
The RPD is now reviewing whether larger fire extinguishers or fire-retardant blankets should be standard in all patrol units. Officer Christopher's standard extinguisher could not stop the engine fire, forcing the two officers to race against a growing blaze with no additional tools, according to CBS News Texas.
Law enforcement analysts noted that the "co-responder" dynamic — one officer on each side of the car — was key. A solo officer could not have freed the pinned leg and pulled the victim out at the same time. Local officials have also renewed calls for "all-red" signal clearance intervals at the Campbell Road frontage intersections to stop high-speed T-bone crashes before they happen, 5 News Online reported.
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