Doral Police Officer Honored For Pulling Man Out Of Burning Vehicle
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DORAL (CBSMiami) – A Doral police officer was honored for pulling a man out of a burning vehicle.
The incident involving a vehicle on fire following an explosion could have had a tragic ending had officer Katherine Alvarez, who was off duty, not been at the right place at the right time to save a man's life.
Cell phone video shows the flames moments after Alvarez got the man out.
"As I was walking away with him, all I heard was 'bang!'," said officer Alvarez. "You could hear the explosion."
Because of her actions on the morning of April 24th, Alvarez was honored at Doral City Hall.
Officer Alvarez was on her way to work in the early morning hours, driving along US 1 near SW 112th Street, when she spotted a vehicle that had crashed into a tree.
Several bystanders were frozen in fear seeing smoke and flames coming from the vehicle. But Alvarez jumped into action.
"I was approaching the vehicle and I see everyone pointing at the man that was on top of the hood of the car and they were saying, 'The car's on fire! The car's on fire!'" said Alvarez.
She says the man, who'd had a medical emergency, had become disoriented and got back inside the burning vehicle.
Officer Alvarez, who's served in the army for nine years, says her military and police training kicked in when the man would not get out on his own.
"The car all of a sudden the flames went everywhere. And that's when I was like, 'Oh no,'" she said. "I grabbed him, got him out and I started walking away and I remember telling the bystanders, 'Get out of here! Get out of here! It's going to blow up!'
After everyone was safe, Alvarez went in to work and apologized to her boss for being late. She never expected to be front and center at Doral City Hall being honored for her bravery.
"It was just a regular day. I didn't see it like, 'Now I'm a hero.' I just happened to be there at the right moment," said Alvarez.
Officer Alvarez has yet to see the man she saved again.