Roselle Park police save man from burning car after he fell asleep

<p>Roselle Park police officers saved a man from a burning car after it caught on fire with him inside.</p>

News 12 Staff

May 9, 2018, 2:48 AM

Updated 2,313 days ago

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Roselle Park police save man from burning car after he fell asleep
Roselle Park police officers saved a man from a burning car after it caught on fire with him inside.
Police say that the man fell asleep inside his car, which was parked outside his home. He apparently left his foot on the gas pedal, causing the car to overheat and eventually catch fire.
A neighbor called police around 7:45 a.m. Saturday to report that the car was smoking. When police arrived they weren’t sure if anyone was inside the car. The responding officers checked and saw that the driver was still asleep inside.
“[The officer] saw the silhouette of a head or body in the car, and it appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel,” says Lt. Manuel Jimenez. “It appeared that he was disoriented and not aware.”
Lt. Jimenez says that the driver was so disoriented that he put up a fight when the officers tried to get him out. Video from the one of the officer’s body cameras shows the officers virtually yanking the man out of the car.
Lt. Jimenez says that the man luckily did not suffer any burns or injuries.
“It was perfect timing, and the resident calling head of time, I think that’s an important factor that they called even before they saw the fire,” Jimenez says.
Police say that they are not sure why the man was sleeping inside his car.