LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Body worn camera footage released Tuesday showed the harrowing moments between an officer arriving at the scene of a crash on Las Vegas Boulevard and that car bursting into flames as the officer and a bystander dragged the driver from the car.
BREAKING STORY: Bystander, officer pull driver from burning car after crash on Las Vegas Strip, Metro police say
Metro police say the driver of a white sedan was traveling southbound on Las Vegas Boulevard near the Venetian when they crashed into a palm tree in the center median Friday.
Officer Derek Stebbins was the first police response to the scene.
"When I arrived, I noticed there was some smoke coming out of the vehicle," Stebbins said.
The video shows Stebbins and the good samaritan attempted to get the driver out through the passenger side.
"The gentleman that was in the vehicle was leaning all the way over to the drivers side of the vehicle so we weren't able to pull him out," Stebbins said.
The civilian was able to get the driver's door unlocked and he rushed to the other side.
Still unconscious, the driver didn't respond to Stebbin's attempts to rouse him, so the officer followed the good samaritan to the drivers side and pulled him out of the seat.
Stebbins could be heard on video screaming "drag him" as the car let out a loud pop and burst into flames covering the driver's legs.
"If we weren't there I think he would have been burned in the vehicle," he said. "Would he have died? I don't know, but he would have suffered severe burns from how fast that vehicle caught fire."
Other responding officers helped drag the man, later identified as Alexander Dawkins, to safety.
Dawkins was later arrested and charged with DUI in connection with the crash.
