As a member of Ohio’s Twinsburg Police Department, Officer Yamil Encarnacion knows that in life or death situations, every second counts.
That’s why he wasted no time when he learned about a rollover crash on I-480. When he saw that a mom and her children’s lives were in jeopardy, he didn’t think twice about taking “extraordinary measures” to save the day!
The woman was driving on August 29 when she attempted to pass another vehicle on the road. As she moved into the left lane, the car ahead of her made the same decision. The driver hit their brakes, causing the mom to slam down on her own to avoid hitting them.
She lost control and her car flipped, trapping her and her children inside.
Upside down in a car seat, one of the little ones, a 5-year-old girl, was beginning to lose color in her legs. As soon as Encarnacion arrived on scene, he crawled through a broken window to cut her seat belt.
Another officer’s body camera captured the harrowing rescue. In it, we see Encarnacion carefully pull the girl out of the wreckage, not sparing a thought for the broken glass all around him.
The police department later shared the video on Facebook, and Chief Christopher Noga praised Encarnacion for taking “extraordinary measures to potentially save a life.”
The way Encarnacion sees it though, he was just doing his job.
“I’m very thankful that I was there at the right time,” he said. “And had it not been me, it would have been any of the other officers here.”
What’s more, he wasn’t the only hero that day! Officer Travis Ebetino pulled a 4-year-old boy out of the car as well. Thanks to their combined efforts, the entire family came out with only minor injuries!
“Most police officers do not think of themselves as extraordinary. We do what we do because we love our communities and want to serve them to the best of our abilities,” Noga said later. “This is what we do and this is why we do what we do.”
These brave individuals may not think of themselves as extraordinary, but we certainly do! We can’t thank them enough, and we’re sure this grateful mom can’t either!
See more of the incredible rescue in the video below, and don’t forget to share this story with your friends.
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