Good Samaritan who saved police officer from fiery crash speaks out

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A Good Samaritan who saved a police officer after his cruiser crashed into the back of a truck on the Florida Turnpike is talking about the rescue.

Jose Florez was one of the drivers on the scene when a Miami-Dade police officer crashed his cruiser into the back of a box truck on the Florida Turnpike Tuesday morning.

Florez said he noticed the truck on the road was emitting smoke and said he saw the accident coming. "I looked over and I saw the box truck and the smoke coming out," said Florez. "I just thought to myself, this truck is going to cause an accident."

The officer was driving behind the truck in his cruiser when Florez noticed the smoke. Several drivers reportedly tried to warn the truck driver that his vehicle looked like it was on fire. The truck driver then pulled over and in seconds the truck caught fire. "I saw the accident happen before it happened, and the cop just rear ended. I pulled over, jumped off the work vehicle and ran across three lanes of traffic," said Florez.

When Florez reached the police cruiser, the fire exploded, and he could the dazed officer through the glass of the cruiser. "He just woke up, all of a sudden like he was in shock, and he just woke up, kicked the door open. We got him out of there and moved everyone, and we moved everyone away from the car," Florez said.

Smoke could be seen for miles as the police car burned. Both southbound and northbound lanes of the Turnpike were temporarily closed as rescue crews arrived.

Florez said he hopes the officer is all right and said he just did what anyone else would have done. "Hero is a big word. Save that for firefighters and people like that who actually risk their lives," he said.

The officer was taken to Kendall Regional Medical Center with a minor injury to his arm. Police are still investigating the crash.

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