Hero Rips Open Door of Burning Car and Saves Man from Fiery Death
Robert Renning, a Minnesota Air National Guardsman, is being hailed as a hero for saving a man trapped in his burning car by—like a human Jaws of Life—bending the door and pulling him through shattered the glass.
Renning noticed flames coming out of the back of Michael Johannes' car while driving on Interstate 35 near Minneapolis. He managed to flag Johannes down and they both pulled over. But after Johannes put his car in park, Minnesota Public Radio reports, his vehicle's locks and windows stopped working and he became trapped inside. That's when Renning made his daring rescue. From Minnesota State Patrol's report:
Johannes' vehicle immediately became engulfed in smoke and the electronic locks and windows failed. The frantic driver unsuccessfully tried to kick out the windows. Renning ran to the car and — with his bare hands — bent the locked door in half from the top down. The glass shattered and Renning reached in and pulled Johannes to safety.
"It had to have been adrenaline. I don't know how I did it. I truly don't," Renning told WCCO. "I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done at the time. It was all timing."
Johannes has a wife and one daughter, and said that he plans to take Renning out for a beer to thank him. From the flames of one man's car, a friendship is born.
