HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A Hillsborough police officer rescued a man from a burning vehicle early Thursday morning just south of the town, officials said.
Officer Mike Toellen was in the 4600 block of Old Highway 86 at about 1:40 a.m., assisting the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on a call for assistance. A deputy had been flagged down and told there was a vehicle on fire in the middle of a field.
Toellen could see smoke and flames in and around the car when he got there, the town said in a news release.
“He opened three doors of the vehicle and located a man inside, who was lying on the back seat with his head near the right side of the vehicle,” the town wrote. “Toellen was able to drag the man out to safety. The vehicle became fully engulfed in flames a short time later and was a total loss.”
“This is the kind of officer Mike Toellen is,” Hillsborough Police Chief Duane Hampton said in the release. “Every day he goes out to help the community, and in this case he was able to save a life in a dangerous situation.”
No injuries were reported in the incident.