CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 36-year-old woman is safe after a Coast Guardsman pulled her from a burning car after she was involved in a head-on collision in Corpus Christi, Oct. 8.
At approximately 7:30 a.m., Chief Petty Officer Jesse Meerscheidt, a gunner’s mate at Sector Corpus Christi, was driving to work when he witnessed two vehicles crash.
“As I rounded the SUV, I observed a single female occupant partially ejected through the front windshield, facing downward on the ground with her hips inside the SUV compartment,” said Meerscheidt. “I ‘bear-hugged’ the windshield and pulled it completely out of the seat and threw it behind me.”
After pulling the woman from the sport utility vehicle, Meerscheidt carried the woman approximately 25 yards away to safety. Meerscheift then proceeded to help the other victim escape from her vehicle.
“As we moved away from the vehicles, the SUV had several flares in the fire and the SUV passenger compartment became fully engulfed in flames,” said Meerscheidt.
Local Emergency Medical Services and the Corpus Christi Fire Department arrived shortly after and provided further assistance. Both crash victims are in stable condition.
