Police say a man is lucky to be alive after officers sprang into action, pulling him from a fiery crash in Mississauga early Wednesday morning.
It’s believed the driver was travelling at a high rate of speed at around 1:30 a.m. when he launched over a curb near Fairwind Drive and Bristol Road and skidded across grass before crashing into a tree.
The impact of the collision crushed the vehicle’s front end and caused it to burst into flames.
“When officers arrived, the car was fully engulfed in flames,” Sgt. Bob Hackenbrook told CP24 from the scene.
Hackenbrook said that the three officers, who arrived on scene quickly, had to pry open the vehicle’s driver door to get to the man.
“Once they go to him, there were flames all around them,” he said. “They tried to access him but it was very difficult because he had his seatbelt on. So they had to cut the seatbelt off and pulled him to safety.”
The man was subsequently taken hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, paramedics confirmed.
“The officers did a great job,” Hackenbrook said.
“It would’ve been a matter of minutes and we wouldn’t have had these results.”
Debris from the crash was scattered across the sidewalk and tire marks show that the vehicle narrowly missed a large mailbox before hitting the tree.
Police said speed is “definitely a factor” in the crash and confirmed that the driver will be charged with careless driving.
