FOUNTAIN VALLEY – California Highway Patrol officer William Rees was on his way to work for his 5 a.m. shift Wednesday when he spotted a burning vehicle facing the wrong way on the I-405.  Rees pulled over, called dispatch, and learned there was a person trapped inside the Hyundai sedan.  As he got closer to the fiery vehicle, Rees realized two Good Samaritans were already there trying to get the woman out.  ”They came upon it as I did,” Rees said. “They basically stopped to render assistance and they jumped into action.”

It was about 4:42 a.m. on the northbound 405 near Brookhurst Street when the woman struck and knocked down a pole, causing the pole to crush her door, the CHP said. Ten-foot high flames surged from the engine compartment of the car while the woman’s legs were pinned by the steering wheel.  Rees identified the Good Samaritans as Larry Dunkel and Abduselam Abdai Mohammed.  Dunkel was in the backseat of the vehicle and undid the woman’s seatbelt, Rees said.  ”He was trying to get her legs loose,” Rees recalled.  ”Mr. Mohammed and I entered the car through the passenger door, grabbed her torso and helped remove her from the vehicle,” Rees added.  Rees said the woman was in pain and had some broken bones.  Soon after Rees and the two men dragged the woman out, the vehicle became fully engulfed in flames. The 26-year-old Long Beach woman suffered major injuries and was taken to UCI Medical Center.

“For me it was lucky timing,” Rees said.

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