Teen Nearly Dies Showing Off Speedy Car, Will Teach Kids His Lesson

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Klima is in rough shape, but he's thankful to be alive. On Saturday Klima suffered two broken ankles, a broken pelvis, head and facial injuries when he decided to show off his drifting skills to his best friend Tyler near Plum Canyon.

Suddenly, the teen lost control. The next thing he knew, his car flew off a cliff and plummeted 175 feet. It hit the ground, rolled over and burst into flames.

"I literally thought that I was going to die and there's no way I'm going to survive this," Klima said. "The last thing I could remember is just the windshield breaking."

Nicholas was knocked unconscious, strapped in the driver's seat. His friend Tyler managed to crawl out through the sunroof as the car was on fire. Fortunately, there were construction workers nearby who ran over to help.

Good samartians Mauricio Pineda and Jaime Calderon opened the doors of the wrecked car and knew they had to get Nicholas out fast.

"I go inside the car and cut the seatbelt and I took out Nicholas," Pineda said.

Pineda and Calderon carried Nicholas to the curb until an ambulance arrived. They're happy to see the 16 year-old is on the road to recovery.

"There's no way I can actually repay him for what he did," Klima said.

"Every time I think about it, I just, had he not been there, Nicholas wouldn't be here. I can't thank him enough," Klima's mother Joanna said.

The teen has learned his lesson

"For the rest of my life, I'm gonna learn from this lesson and try to teach other kids and other people to not make the same mistake I did," Klima said