Maciej Kosiarski saved Mohanakumari Naidu from burning, South Barrington, Illinois, July 3, 2018. Naidu, 61, was driving a sport utility vehicle on a two-lane highway before dusk when the vehicle left the road, struck a tree, and turned onto its passenger side in a shallow, grassy ditch. Smoke immediately issued from the vehicle’s engine. Naidu, secured in the driver’s seat by a seat belt, was unable to open her door. Kosiarski, 30, pizza delivery driver, was passing by and observed Naidu’s smoking vehicle. Kosiarski climbed onto the driver’s side of Naidu’s vehicle and found the rear, driver’s-side door unlocked. He opened it and entered Naidu’s vehicle, standing on the rear, passenger-side door panel. Naidu tumbled down from her driver’s seat and scrambled into the rear-seat area, while Kosiarski pulled himself out of the car through the rear, driver’s-side door. The vehicle continued to smoke, and Kosiarski reached down into the car to grasp Naidu. Kosiarski pulled her up to a sitting position atop the vehicle. After jumping down to the ground, Kosiarski reached up and grasped Naidu, then carried her on his back to his car. He then drove a safe distance from Naidu’s vehicle, from which flames issued. Naidu was taken to a hospital but did not require treatment.
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