Woman saved from burning truck along US 60 meets her rescuers
Crash victim reunites with men who saved her life
A driver who nearly died on the US 60 in Mesa after being hit by a cement truck has been reunited with a Chandler Police officer and a Peoria firefighter who helped save her life. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas reports.
CHANDLER, Ariz. - A woman who was rescued from a pickup truck after a crash along US 60 on Feb. 18 was reunited with the two people who helped rescue her.
The reunion between Aymee Ruiz, Chandler Police officer Brian Larison, and Peoria firefighter Asa Paguia took place in Chandler during the afternoon hours of Feb. 20.
Woman pulled from burning truck meets her rescuers
Aymee Ruiz, who was pulled from her burning pickup truck on Feb. 18 along US 60 in Mesa, is reunited with a Chandler police officer and a Peoria firefighter who helped rescue her. The reunion happened just days after the fiery crash happened.
The backstory:
The crash happened near US 60 and Greenfield at around 7 a.m. on Feb. 18.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, a cement mixer rear-ended the pickup truck, causing it to catch fire.
After the crash, Larison and Paguia broke the truck's window, and pulled the woman to safety.
"She clung to me on the side of the road and I just held her. I just told her I had her," Paguia said.
Chandler Police say the cement truck driver, a 42-year-old Arizona City man, was cited for failing to control the vehicle to avoid a collision.
Officer's heroic efforts save woman from burning car
Helmet camera footage shows the dramatic rescue of a woman from a burning car after it was involved in a crash with a cement truck in Mesa.
Ruiz thanked the men who helped save her life
During a news conference on Feb. 20, Ruiz thanked Larison and Paguia for what they did, calling what the two did on that fateful day "heroic."
What Ruiz Said:
"My heartfelt full, seeing their faces again. There's really no words to describe it," said Aymee Ruiz. "How do you say ‘thank you’ like that? What do you say besides ‘thank you?’"
Ruiz recounted what happened in the lead-up to the fiery crash. She said traffic came to a stop on the freeway after dropping her kids off at school and when she looked in her rearview mirror, she saw a cement truck coming towards her.
Ruiz said she immediately called her husband.
"That's when I noticed all the fire in the back of the cab or the back of the bed, slowly creeping up to the cab and from there, I just started screaming for help," Ruiz recounted.
Thankfully, Larison was nearby and began breaking the window. Later, Paguia pulled Ruiz out of the truck.
"It was already scary enough being trapped there," Ruiz recounted. "I really didn't think I was going to make it out.
One-on-one interview
Crash victim says her life has changed after rescue
Aymee Ruiz was involved in a horrific crash on US 60 on Feb. 18, and she was rescued by who she's calling her heroes. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas has this story.
"That was just the most mortifying moment of my life," she said in a one-on-one interview with FOX 10 on Feb. 20. "I can't stop reliving it in my head."
She said she braced for impact when she saw the cement truck wasn't stopping.
"I look in the rearview mirror and saw the cement truck coming really quick, really fast, and I just remember, just close my eyes really tight and holding onto the steering wheel, just knowing it was going to hit me. So, I just closed my eyes and just hoped for the best," Ruiz said.
She said watching the flames growing bigger and bigger was the scariest moment of her life.
She recalled when her heroes jumped into action.
"I remember him breaking in and getting my foot out there, almost getting out. Then the truck all of a sudden getting back on all fours and me getting pushed back in. I just, from there, I started feeling way more heat. I actually like, felt my hair, just start lighting on fire. Then I just felt my whole face just get hot. I closed my eyes so tight, was just so many fumes and smoke and fire," she said.
Ruiz says this has changed her whole perspective on life.
"Now, I'm just going to be living my life in fear. These careless drivers almost cost me my life. I seriously could die in there a slow, painful death. I can't even imagine burning to death like that, for my family to remember me that way," she said.