The Region : Deputy Pulls 2 Men From Burning Van

An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy pulled two men from a burning van that careened into a gas main in Hacienda Heights, setting off fiery blast that engulfed a house. Deputy Carlos Bowers, 45, said he learned that a van had crashed into his next-door neighbor’s garage. Seeing that a gas main had ruptured, Bowers said he pulled the driver, Christopher Eun Cho, 24, of Chino, and Sam Sang Woo Kim, 24, of Diamond Bar to safety as fire broke out. Then, he pounded on the front door of the house, but there was no answer, so he threw a garbage can through the front window and crawled in. “Then there was an explosion, and it blew me out the window,” Bowers said. The deputy said he was stopped from going in the house again by neighbors, who said the family was on vacation. The fire caused about $70,000 damage. Cho, who sustained moderate injuries, was booked for investigation of drunk driving, California Highway Patrol officers said. Kim was treated for a bloody nose.