Army Ranger Rescues Man from Burning Car

An uneventful commute earlier this month turned into a moment of heroism for one Army Ranger, resulting in the rescue of a man trapped in a burning vehicle.

On Aug. 9, Master Sgt. Joe Thach was driving along Interstate 5 in Tacoma, Washington, when he noticed billowing smoke ahead. Soon, he encountered a car that had collided with a highway barrier and was engulfed in flames.

“As I looked I noticed that nobody had stopped to help and I thought well if not me, then who?” Thach told Washington’s KOMO news. “That’s somebody’s son, brother, or dad and immediately it’s something that I thought that I would want someone to do that for someone I cared about.”

Jumping into action, Thach, with 18 years of Army service, applied his background and training to free the man from the damaged vehicle as the fire spread.

Upon pulling him away from the burning vehicle, Thach discovered that the man was also a military veteran.

“I remember he reached out to me and grabbed my hand and he was like I really need a brother right now,” Thach told KOMO news. “I grabbed his hand and let him know that he would be okay, fully understanding that it was a pretty rough day for him and letting him know that I was there for him.”

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com