Dramatic video in Fife shows rescuers saving man trapped in burning Subaru

FIFE, Wash. - Dramatic new video out of Fife shows the moment a man was pulled out of a burning car by Good Samaritans who risked their lives to save his.

The car crashed and caught on fire on an exit ramp near 54th Ave East and I-5, just after 9 p.m. on August 16th, not far from the Emerald City Casino.

Mohammad Malkawi was one of the first to stop to help after seeing the burning Subaru with the driver trapped inside.

He was driving a friend home when he saw the flames and pulled over.

After trying to break the windows, he was finally able to pull him out.

You could hear Mohammad on the dramatic video, captured during the rescue yelling, "There is a guy inside. Hey Hello! Your car is burning!"

"I really freaked out, because I saw someone struggling inside, and the car is on fire," Mohammad said.

Another man, who had walked by on foot at the time, also tried to help. He was caught on video punching the car window, but it would not break.

"He was inside crying, he couldn’t do anything," said Mohammad. "I was freaking out because the car was burning completely."

Mohammad yelled to his friend to grab something, like a rock, to smash the glass.

As flames spread, that friend ripped a metal fence post from the ground, and handed it off to Mohammad. He tried to smash a hole with it in the windshield.

"I was really scared and screaming, but I didn’t want to see this guy burning in front of my eyes," he said. "We tried to crack the side door window. It didn’t break. We tried to break the windshield. It barely broke. Finally, the driver's door gives up and opens, and it’s a ball of fire."

As they pulled the man out, the flames followed.

"As soon as I opened the door it almost exploded," said Mohammad.

Rescuers made sure nobody else was inside. Fortunately, the man was alone in the vehicle.

Mohammad said his father saved his own life when he was young.

"I have been inspired by my dad," he said.

Mohammad said when he was just six years old, he poured paint thinner on a fire, which exploded.

His dad, who was some distance away, saw the fire and ran over to him, patting him down with sand to save his life.

"I have an empathy to help out because I have been through that," said Mohammad.

After years of surgery and treatment, Mohammad's own hands are still scarred from his own experience. He said he didn’t want that to happen to anyone else.

"I believe it’s God’s will he’s still alive," said Mohammad. "I know how painful and hard it is and how his life would change totally if, for God’s sake, got burned."

Rather than feeling like a hero, he says God put him in the right place at the right time.

"I’m very thankful and happy that I saved someone’s life," Mohammad said.

The Washington State Patrol says the man who was rescued also hit another vehicle, but that the other driver was not seriously injured. He was taken to the hospital and is recovering from burn injuries.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and the man who was trapped is being investigated for possible DUI.