A San Jose police officer on Sunday rescued an unconscious man from a burning car on Highway 101, officials said.
Video taken from inside a responding San Jose fire truck showed rookie Officer Pedro Garcia run up to the burning car and drag the man out of the driver's seat. The man was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries, officials said.
Garcia has only been on the job for eight months, but he said when he saw the car engulfed in flames, his training kicked in.
"What was going through my mind was just, 'I need to get him out now. Faster the better,'" Garcia said. "I think it was just in seconds the flames were getting hotter and bigger."
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Garcia said the intense heat made it difficult to get the man out of the car.
"His shoes were melted to the floorboard," Garcia said.
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San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata applauded Garcia for jumping into action.
"Courageous, brave, and for him to kick in in eight months, just amazing," Mata said. "I'm extremely proud of him."
Garcia was not injured.
People are already talking about nominating him for the life-saving award.
"I just feel like I was at the right place at the right time, and I know for a fact any other of my partners from the department, if they would have been in the same situation I was, they would have done the same exact thing," Garcia said.
