Passersby save accident victim from fire

Crews clean up from the fire that destroyed an Oregon woman's car.

Passing motorists saved a woman injured in a single-vehicle accident at milepost 129 on I-84 Monday after her vehicle rolled on the interstate and caught fire.

Both eastbound lanes of I-84 were closed for a short time Monday morning as emergency crews worked the accident just east of the King Hill exit.

In his initial investigation, Deputy Kevin Henslee, of the Elmore County Sheriff's Office, said he believed the driver was driving eastbound when, for yet unknown reasons, she drifted onto the shoulder of the highway, overcorrected and hit a rocky embankment. The vehicle, a Ford Explorer, rolled and then landed on its tires facing oncoming traffic.

Three unidentified citizens pulled the injured driver from the vehicle before it burst into flames and before emergency crews could reach the scene. No one else was in the vehicle.

"If they hadn't pulled her from the car, she wouldn't have made it," said Deputy Henslee, who is leading the accident investigation.

The unidentified driver was taken by ambulance to Elmore Medical Center. She is believed to be from Oregon.

The passersby who saved her life were not identified.