Off-duty firefighter helped pull 2 people from electric vehicle crash on Mass. highway: "I know how fast these cars can burn up"

A group of good Samaritans, including an off-duty firefighter, rushed into action when an electric vehicle rolled over on Interstate 495 in Plainville, Massachusetts Sunday afternoon.

It happened around 1:30 p.m. on the northbound side of the road. Two people were trapped inside the car following the crash.

David Iarussi, an off-duty firefighter from the Ashland Fire Department, was on his way home from Rhode Island with his wife when he came upon the crash. The car had come to a stop in the breakdown lane on its side.

Video from the scene shows several people attempting to remove the two trapped people from inside the car. The group of strangers attempted to smash the windshield and the sunroof, punching and kicking it. Eventually, several people use large items such as rocks as they attempted to gain access.

While they were trying to break the glass, the car caught fire and began to smoke. One passerby had a fire extinguisher and used it to put out the blaze on the vehicle's undercarriage.

Eventually, the group was able to get through the glass and pull both people out.

"I don't even remember doing it, you know," said Lt. David Iarussi.

He said his training and instinct immediately kicked in when he saw the overturned electric vehicle.

"I know how fast these cars can burn up. So, my mindset was, I've got to get them out," he recalled.

"Believe it or not, but the people in front of us, this gentleman had a broken leg, and he handed me his crutch to use on the window," Iarussi said. "So, I'm running down the side of the road towards the car with a crutch, but it didn't help. And the reason it didn't help was the windshield was already shattered but was laminated."

Iarussi says he typically carries a small saw in his car for that reason, while window punches can work great for side windows, the laminate makes it tough to break through windshields and sunroofs.

Despite the challenges, the group remained focused and eventually pulled both victims from the burning vehicle.

"I know for a fact if those people didn't keep putting extinguishment and all that powder and everything else that they were using on the fire, that car would have been completely gone and we probably would have lost a couple of people," Iarussi said.

Iarussi, who plans to retire next year after more than 30 years of service, said the experience will stay with him.

"I would do it again in one second, but I want to be a little more prepared with what I said about the little saw and some tools that I'm going to put in my wife's car," he said. "I feel great, and I hope someday I'll hear that the two victims are doing well."

Iarussi doesn't like being called a hero, he says he was simply doing his job but adds the other passersby who joined the effort to help are the true heroes in the story. 

Massachusetts State Police are still investigating the crash. Authorities have not identified the two victims or released further information on their conditions.