This bodycam video taken from a Bridgewater Township, New Jersey State Trooper named Robert Tarleton has a surprisingly engaging narrative structure: it starts slow and normal, a routine traffic stop, then quickly leaps into action movie territory as Trooper Tarleton races to rescue the driver of a burning tractor-trailer, seconds before a fiery explosion.
Here, watch for yourself:
I guess this also shows that the best way to get out of a ticket is to hope a much, much more demanding disaster happens right near you.
It’s impressive how the trooper had the presence of mind to call in what was going on to dispatch while he’s racing to the burning truck, where he was met by Lieutenant Edward Ryder, who spotted the burning truck on his way home from work.
Here’s the full description from the YouTube page, if you’re interested:
Bridgewater Township, New Jersey – Two New Jersey State Troopers pulled a man out of a burning tractor-trailer on Interstate 287 in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County just seconds before it exploded. On Monday, March 2, at approximately 3:35 p.m., Trooper Robert Tarleton was speaking with a driver on a motor vehicle stop northbound on I-287 at milepost 20 when a nearby tractor trailer ran off the right side of the road in the express lanes, striking the guardrail and bridge abutment before becoming engulfed in flames. When Trooper Tarleton heard the impact and observed the crash, he immediately returned the driver’s credentials and ran back to his troop car to request for fire and emergency medical services personnel to respond to the crash.
As he drove to the scene, Trooper Tarleton calmly provided an update to dispatch before exiting his vehicle and sprinting to the burning tractor-trailer. As he approached the truck, State Police Lieutenant Edward Ryer, who was on his way home from work when he witnessed the crash, was out of his vehicle attempting to rescue the driver from the cab. Trooper Tarleton and Lieutenant Ryer then worked together to pull the driver from the burning cab, dragging him to safety, seconds before it exploded. The driver sustained minor injuries in the crash and was transported to Morristown Medical Centre for evaluation. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
I hope that cop got the rest of the afternoon off.
(spotted via our pals at BoingBoing!)