Goodyear Fire Capt. says officer's rescue of his daughter was a 'miracle'
Fire captain calls daughter's rescue a 'miracle'
Goodyear Police Officer Dakota Berry is being hailed as a hero for saving a Goodyear Fire Captain's daughter on I-10. Berry, returning to Goodyear after booking a suspect, came across the crash & took immediate action. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez has more.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Officer Dakota Berry bravely rescued a young woman from a car engulfed in flames about three weeks ago near 91st Avenue and I-10.
Little did Officer Berry know, but the woman he was saving was the daughter of a fellow firefighter.
Timeline:
It's May 25 at 4 in the morning, and Officer Berry is returning to Goodyear after booking a suspect into jail.
He just so happens to drive past a multi-car crash, and one car is burning and being overtaken by flames.
He could see that inside the car, a woman was panicking, stuck and begging for help.
Without hesitation, Officer Berry got out of his car, and smashed the windows of the car, and seriously burned himself in the process.
He quickly pulled the woman out of the car, but little did he know, he had just saved 18-year-old Asharie Cheatham, the daughter of Goodyear Fire Capt. Simeon Cheatham.
He saved her life.
For the last few weeks, Officer Berry has been recovering, and Asharie has been healing in a burn center.
The crash caused burns to 30% of her body.
What they're saying:
On June 16, we heard from Capt. Cheatham and Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi who were overwhelmingly grateful and overcome with emotion by Officer Berry's courage.
"What he did was nothing short of a miracle. The fact that he happened to be traveling back to Goodyear at that exact moment gives me chills. He wasn't supposed to be there, but he was, and because of that, he was the one who broke those windows, pulling my daughter out, saving her life," Capt. Cheatham said. "I want to say to Asharie, you're a beautiful, brave girl. Your light, your will to fight, it inspires us every single day. You've already overcome so much, and we know the road ahead will be long, but with all this love behind you, and your unstoppable spirit within you, you'll get through this."
Goodyear Fire Chief Paul Luizzi says this is what it means to be a family.
This incident shows the lengths people are willing to go to help someone in need. The department says it will continue to support the whole Cheatham family as Asharie puts her dreams of attending ASU on hold, and focuses on healing.
Goodyear officer rescues woman from burning car
Caught on camera, a Goodyear Police officer jumped into action and saved a woman's life. The officer rushed in to help when he came across a car fire on Interstate 10.
What you can do:
If you would like to make a donation to help the family pay for these medical bills, you can click here.