Video shows South Brunswick officers rescuing driver from burning car after Somerset County crash

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Somerset County) — Two South Brunswick police officers are being credited with saving the life of a 26-year-old man who was trapped in his burning vehicle after a serious crash early Sunday morning, authorities said.

The crash occurred around 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 9 on Route 27 near Andover Road in Franklin Township. Although the incident was outside their jurisdiction, South Brunswick Officers Thomas Sites and Yash Shroff were the closest units and arrived within minutes, police said.

According to South Brunswick police, the driver was unconscious behind the wheel of the locked vehicle as smoke poured from the engine compartment. Officer Yash Shroff first attempted to break a window with his baton but was unsuccessful. As flames began to appear at the front of the car, Officer Thomas Sites retrieved a breaching tool from his patrol vehicle.

Sites smashed the rear passenger window in an attempt to unlock the doors, then broke the driver’s side window and reached through shattered glass to unlock it, police said. As he opened the door, flames were already approaching his feet from beneath the vehicle.

The officers pulled the driver from the car and dragged him to safety. Within seconds, the front of the vehicle became engulfed in flames. Minutes later, the entire car was consumed.

“I have watched the video, and it is the definition of heroic,” South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka said. “The driver is severely injured, trapped, and his car is on fire. The fire was quickly spreading and appeared to be almost at Officer Sites’ feet when they could free the driver. It is the split-second actions of these officers that this 26-year-old is alive today.”

The man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Fire crews from Little Rocky Hill, Griggstown and Rocky Hill extinguished the blaze. The Franklin Township Police Department is leading the crash investigation.