Philadelphia

Teen Saves Police Officer From Burning Cruiser After Crash

UPDATE: The officer was released from the hospital Monday and spoke to NBC10. NEW DETAILS HERE


A teenage volunteer firefighter and his neighbor jumped into action to save a Philadelphia Police officer from his burning police cruiser after it was broadsided on a city street.

Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Kimsey, 30, was responding to a priority call around 5:25 p.m. Saturday when a Toyota pickup truck collided with his cruiser at the intersection of 28th and Tasker streets, police said.

The force of the crash left Kimsey trapped inside as the police cruiser burst into flames.

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Seeing the flames grow around the officer, Joe Chambers, a 17-year-old volunteer firefighter with Leedom Fire Company in Delaware County, and his neighbor, 24-year-old Dante Johnson, rushed over to help.

"I saw that it was a cop car," Chambers said. "Right then I just started sprinting and did what I had to do."

Chambers and Johnson pulled Officer Kimsey from the window of his burning car.

"The door was slammed," Chambers said. "It was dented and wouldn't open. The car caught fire. He said he couldn't feel his legs. We had to drag him through the window and he was ready for it."

As the two good Samaritans pulled the officer to safety, other witnesses pulled the injured driver from the pickup truck.

Officer Kimsey and the pickup truck passenger were both taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment. Kimsey is currently in stable condition having suffered trauma to his head from the airbag deployment and burns to his legs, police said.

The 52-year-old driver of the pickup truck also suffered head trauma and is listed in stable condition, police said.

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NBC10 - Randy Gyllenhall

Chambers also suffered minor injuries and was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Later Saturday night, he visited Officer Kimsey and the two posed for a photo.

"It felt great just to see that he was OK,'' the Ridley high school senior said. "He (Kimsey) said, `I can't thank you enough.' I was like, `You don't have to, it's fine.' I would do it any day of the week if I had to.''

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Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Kimsey and Joe Chambers, the 17-year-old who pulled him from his burning police cruiser.

Police originally said the driver of the pickup truck had fled the scene, but later corrected that report.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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