WSP trooper saves woman from burning car in Kent

A Washington State Patrol trooper risked his own life to save another Monday night after a woman was rear-ended and her car caught fire on Interstate-5 in Kent.

Detective Robert Jones happened to pull up just moments later and discovered there was someone in the burbing vehicle.

“Normally you see these things and you want to make sure everybody stays out of the area. Car fires get extremely hot. But obviously all that changed when it was very clear there was somebody still inside,” says Jones.

He grabbed his police radio, and tried to break the window to get the driver out. But says at first his radio just bounced off the shatter-proof glass.

“I just gave it one more swing as hard as I could, and thank God it popped. Immediately in an instant there she was inside the car. It was very surreal,” says Jones.

Jones pulled the woman out and dragged her away from the burning vehicle just seconds before the entire vehicle became engulfed in flames.

The driver of the vehicle and Jones both had to be treated at the hospital, but he’s now back out on patrol, and the woman is expected to make a full recovery.