SAN ANTONIO — In a daring Monday night rescue, San Antonio Police officers rushed to save two people trapped in a burning vehicle.
KENS 5 obtained body camera footage from the harrowing mission. An SUV went off a roadway and crashed into a fence, trapping the passengers inside.
Two of the officers that responded were Aiden Canales and Roberto Mireles. Both had to crawl under a fence to get to the passengers; the fiery crash unfolded at Callaghan and Culebra. The SUV had crashed with another vehicle.
"I did see the fire," Canales said. "And it was growing by the second. The car was lodged right in between the fence."'
"It could have blown up," Mireles said. "We could have lost two of the civilians here."
Canales's body camera footage captured the heart-pounding moments to get the passengers out of the burning car, local firefighters still en route. In the video, the officers can be heard deliberating the different ways to rescue the passengers and getting the fire somewhat under control.
At one moment, an officer is heard in the video saying: "What if you break the window?"
But they were having a hard time due to the growth of the blaze. The doors of the SUV were caved in against the fence.
The SAPD officers didn't give up.
"Once we got her out, we wrapped around the vehicle," Mireles said.
They pulled out a woman covered in blood and went on to the other side to pull the driver out.
"This is what I went into," Canales said. "This is what I love doing. I love helping people."
"I don't feel like a hero," Mireles added. "But, at the end of the day, I feel proud of myself and the other officers that were there on scene."
The passengers who were rescued were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. It's unknown if speed or alcohol played a role in the crash, which is still under investigation.
The two officers haven't been with the department that long. They credit their other brothers and sisters in uniform and their training.