By Bryn Stole
The Advocate
BATON ROUGE, La. — A pregnant woman’s car burst into flames Tuesday after she lost control and crashed into some trees in Livingston Parish, prompting a passing WBRZ-TV photographer to slam on the brakes and pull the injured woman to safety.
Other Good Samaritans stopped near the wreck on La. 63 and helped care for the woman while waiting for paramedics, firefighters and sheriff’s deputies to arrive, WBRZ reporter Brittany Weiss told The Advocate.
Patrick Perry, a photographer with the television station for the past 20 years, first tried to open the driver’s side door of the burning vehicle but couldn’t get it open, Weiss said. He then opened the passenger door and managed to carry the woman — who couldn’t escape by herself — across the road to safety.
Weiss said she spoke with the family of the woman, who’s being treated at a hospital but is in stable condition. Her baby is also doing OK.
Perry and Weiss were on their way to cover a story on Department of Transportation and Development bridge inspections when Perry spotted the wreck, Weiss said. They wound up missing the assignment while staying with the injured woman. Several minutes after Perry pulled the woman out of the vehicle, Weiss said it burst into much larger flames that spouted several feet high.
“I came in early to cover this story, otherwise we would’ve never been there. It was just amazing to watch all these people stop and help,” said Weiss, who’s also an anchor at the station. “How many people do you know that would go into a burning car and pull you out?”
Copyright 2016 The Advocate