HOUSTON COUNTY, Texas – Deputies in Houston County are being praised for their quick thinking and actions, which helped save the life of a man trapped inside a burning vehicle.
Deputies responded to a crash involving two vehicles on Wednesday on SH 21 West just outside of Crockett.
An occupant inside one of the vehicles had major injuries and was trapped inside the vehicle, which was on fire.
Bodycam video shows deputies arriving at the scene and immediately trying to put out the fire with fire extinguishers.
“When I took office, I stressed the need to equip our deputies with the right equipment needed to do any job that they may come across during their routine patrols, and having fire extinguishers in each patrol vehicle was at the top of the list,” said Houston County Sheriff Zak Benge.
With the help of bystanders, deputies were able to get the man out of the vehicle and provided first aid to him and another victim of the crash.
“Our deputies went through three fire extinguishers during the short time it took to remove the victim, and undoubtedly, without those fire extinguishers the victim would have been severely burned or worse, burned alive,” Benge said.
Benge says they are now working to get the expended extinguishers recharged and to secure more fire extinguishers for deputies.
“I would like to thank the bystanders for their assistance in helping a fellow human being in a time of great need. I would like to commend the officers on scene for their ability to act and remain calm during this very stressful situation. Officers are routinely criticized for their actions and/or inactions, but this attached video will show that when faced with stressful life and death decisions, these officers didn’t hesitate to act and get the victim to medical intervention. Thank you to everyone involved on the scene,” Benge said.