California

Man Rescues Strangers After Car Flips, Bursts Into Flames on 91 Freeway

A man rescued the lives of two strangers Sunday morning after he saw their car flip and burst into flames on the 91 Freeway in Cerritos.

"I just pulled over and snatched the girls out the car before it exploded because it was on fire," Danny Mitchell said.

Mitchell was traveling on the westbound 91 Freeway near Carmenita Road just before 3:45 a.m. when he saw the car merge onto the No. 2 lane.

It wasn't clear why, but the driver began to over-correct after merging and lost control, the California Highway Patrol said.

The car traveled up an embankment, flipped a couple of times and caught fire, CHP said.

Mitchell pulled over when he saw it happen to rush in and help. He saw the car was already starting to burn, so he began pulling the women from the car. He said it looked like it was exploding in the front.

Once the women were safe, the car was swallowed up by the flames.

"It was hot. But I wasn't thinking about that. I didn't care," Mitchell said.

Both women suffered minor injuries, and if it hadn't been for Mitchell, they may have been severely hurt or died, CHP said.

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