Mpls. Officers, Good Samaritans Save Woman After Car Flips Onto I-94
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Some Minneapolis police officers risked their lives when a car ran off a bridge and flipped over onto Interstate 94 last Wednesday.
Traffic camera video shows the car traveling at a high rate of speed, veering off Washington Avenue, through a barrier and flipping over the concrete wall.
The car barely missed a vehicle traveling westbound on I-94 before coming to rest against the middle barrier.
Officers Krystel Fallon and Ryan Davis were close by when the call came out about the accident just north of the 41st Avenue Bridge.
"Coming down the on-ramp we had to dodge vehicles, construction equipment and the debris from the crash," Davis said.
Traffic was whizzing by as the officers checked to see if anyone was trapped inside.
Fallon ran to the back of the vehicle where she saw a woman in the back seat, and the driver belted and trapped inside.
"I was able to get underneath her armpits and just pull her out," Fallon said. "After about a minute of pulling I was able to dislodge her from the vehicle."
Two people passing by stopped to help the officers pull the driver from the car.
"One of them actually took one of our knives and went in there and actually cut the seatbelt for us as we were pulling him out," Davis said. "And by the time we were really able to get him out, we had flames up to our point in the car."
Video shows the officers performing CPR on driver Lloyd Cunningham. He did not survive, but his passenger did.
Cunningham's family returned to the scene to meet the two who risked their own lives to save others.
Both officers say they didn't think -- they just reacted.
"We do this job to help people, to save people, to protect people. And when it comes down to it, I mean, that's your job," Fallon said. "And it becomes something more than something what you're just paid to do. It becomes your identity."
Police do not know the two passersbys who stopped to help, but officers say they deserve credit for saving a life.