Off-duty deputy pulls driver from burning car in Gaston County

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — An off-duty Gaston County deputy pulled a man from a burning car after the man’s car caught fire in a crash Sunday night.

"It was pretty intense, yeah," Deputy Ryan Burrell said Tuesday.

Burrell and his girlfriend were driving home at about 2:30 a.m. when they passed a smoking car on McAdenville Road.

"We decided to turn around to see if we could help," Burrell said. "By the time I got to the car, flames were just coming up out of everywhere.”

He said he could see flames coming up through the floorboard of the car.

Troopers said the driver, Domingo Mejia, of Charlotte, was heavily impaired and was not able to get out of the car.

At the time, Burrell didn't know the man was a suspected drunken driver.

He said Mejia was not acting like his car was on fire.

"He really seemed unfazed by it. It was kinda weird," Burrell said.

Flames were everywhere but on the driver's seat, the deputy said.

"When I saw him in the car, I kinda went for it. Didn't really give it a second thought," Burrell said.

Burrell used his training as a deputy in the Gaston County jail for the last three years.

He said he must be prepared to take the right steps with little time to process the problem.

"You don't really get time to think," Burrell said.

He ran back to the burning car to check the back seats to make sure there were no passengers.

He and his girlfriend left the scene when paramedics arrived.

“I’d like to think anybody would have done it,” Burrell said.

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