By Jack Minch
Sentinel & Enterprise
FITCHBURG, Mass. — An off-duty Massachusetts State Police trooper rescued two people from an automobile accident just as the car burst into flames in front of 371 Lunenburg St. Friday evening, police Sgt. Timothy McDermott said Saturday.
The crash occurred at the city line with Lunenburg where the driver, of Fitchburg, lost control of the Audi she was driving about 1:53 a.m., police said.
The 23-year-old passenger’s name was not released.
He was taken to HealthAlliance Hospital where a medical ambulance picked him up and took him to UMass Memorial Medical Center.
He was listed in stable condition Saturday afternoon.
The driver was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol.
Lunenburg police officer Omar Connor identified the trooper as Dan Jones, a former Lunenburg firefighter who is now assigned to the state fire marshal’s office at Devens.
“I said to him, ‘do you realize you saved two peoples lives,’” Connor said Saturday after speaking with Jones. “He’s a hero.”
A witness reported the car went off the road and into a parking lot that has a couple of businesses including Godfrey’s Grille & Pizzeria, hit a cement pole, crushed a large box housing an electrical meter, knocked a utility pole about five inches, and hit the sign announcing the arrival into Lunenburg, McDermott said.
Jones was driving behind the woman and came to the rescue as the car caught fire, McDermott said.
“He did help the operator out of the vehicle,” McDermott said. “He noticed a passenger unconscious, he pulled the man from the burning car and dragged him to safety.”
The parking lot in front of Fireside Stove Shop at 10 Massachusetts Ave., where the street name changes, was charred black where the car came to a rest.
The sign marking the town line had burn marks and there was a faint smell of ash Saturday.
“It sounded like a shotgun going off,” said Todd Jalbert, a manager at The Bootlegger Restaurant & Lounge.
The restaurant is around a bend in the road so Jalbert could not see the accident and did not realize it was close.
State Police spokesman Reid Bagley confirmed Jones was the trooper who helped at the accident scene.
“Trooper Jones was off duty when he observed the crash, and the car burst into the flame,” Bagley said “He helped the female driver out and pulled the unconsicous passenger out of the car.”
Bagley and Connor separately described Jones as a modest person.
“I know trooper Jones and he’s not the type of person to ever say a word about it,” Bagley said.
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