Hometown Feat: A Detective and a Deputy Pull a Driver From a Burning Truck on I-35
An off-duty Kansas City detective and a Clay County deputy, coming from opposite directions, pulled a 70-year-old driver from a burning pickup on I-35 moments before it exploded. Body and dash camera video caught it.
On the afternoon of September 15, a pickup truck caught fire on southbound Interstate 35 near the I-435 interchange in Claycomo, Missouri, in Kansas City's Northland. The 70-year-old driver was still inside. Two lawmen who had never planned to be there got him out with seconds to spare.
What happened
Kansas City Police Detective Jason Findley had just gotten off work. He's a 19-year veteran who works as a fire investigator and bomb technician and handles a K-9 partner. He saw the smoke, followed the truck with his lights and siren on, and when it stopped he ran to it.
At the same moment, Clay County Sheriff's Deputy Chase Blatt, a two-year veteran who works as a school resource officer at Maple Park Middle School, was driving north on the other side of the interstate. He saw the black smoke, saw someone being pulled from the truck, and stopped to help.
Body and dash camera video released by the Clay County Sheriff's Office shows the two men dragging the driver away from the flames. His pant leg was on fire. Moments after they got him clear, the truck exploded.
The driver
The driver was taken to a hospital with burns to his legs. KCTV5 reported he has since recovered at home. Police said the truck had a mechanical problem that started the fire.
In their words
"It's one of those life moments that's gonna be burned in my head forever," Findley told KCTV5.
"I would do it again," Blatt said. "Wouldn't want to do it again, but I would do it again."
Why it counts as a feat
Running toward a burning vehicle goes against every instinct. Both men had seconds to decide, from opposite directions, with no plan and no coordination, and both made the same choice. A fire investigator who knows exactly how fast a vehicle fire turns deadly, and a school resource officer two years on the job, met at the truck and got a stranger out alive.
That's the kind of everyday courage this series is about. Check back for more Hometown Feats.
Sources (3)
KCTV5: Off-duty detective, Clay County deputy pull driver from burning truck before explosion; KSHB 41: Video captures Kansas City officer, Clay County deputy rescue man from burning truck; FOX4 Kansas City.
Photo: still from Clay County Sheriff's Office body/dash camera video, via KMBC 9 on YouTube.