Teen-Ager Saved From Blazing Car : Other Driver in Collision Held on Drunk-Driving Charge

An Anaheim teen-ager was saved by a security guard Sunday night after an auto driven by an alleged drunk driver collided with her vehicle, causing an explosion and fire, police said.

Jennifer Willhoff, 18, of Anaheim was in critical condition in the burn unit of the UCI Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday. Willhoff suffered burns on 45% of her body.

Willhoff had stopped for a red light on Beach Boulevard and Orange Avenue at 10 p.m. when her car was struck from behind by a pickup truck driven by Richard Knight, 44, of Garden Grove, Anaheim Police Lt. Bob Puckett said. He said a security guard, William Brashears, who works at the nearby Beach Villas apartment complex, pulled Willhoff out after her car caught on fire.

Knight attempted to flee the scene by foot but was caught by officers, Puckett said.

Brashears, 40, could not be reached for comment, but he told his family that he pulled the injured woman through a broken window and smothered her burning clothes with his body.

“He was kind of in shock. He just kept repeating ‘nobody would help me, no one would help me,’ ” said Lucy Ramirez, his stepdaughter.

Brashears was not burned during the rescue but took Monday off from work. “He was shaken up. He said he couldn’t think of anything else but her,” Ramirez said.

Knight was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and felony hit and run, Puckett said. He is being held in the Anaheim City Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.