Passerby Rescues 3 From Car Fire, Is Hurt Himself
Three people trapped in a car set ablaze when it was rammed by a truck on the Artesia Freeway in Cerritos were pulled to safety Wednesday by a passerby who suffered burns in the rescue, officials said. One of the three victims was critically burned.
Manuel Jaramillo, 23, of Whittier, was credited by the California Highway Patrol with saving the trio, all passengers in a 1972 Ford that was the last of three vehicles rammed from behind by a speeding pickup truck that plowed into stopped traffic along the westbound Artesia Freeway, over the San Gabriel River Freeway.
Jaramillo was treated at Pioneer Hospital in Artesia for first-degree burns on his arms sustained in the rescue, CHP Officer David Boyland said.
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