A police officer and bystanders rushed into a small grass fire Saturday to rescue a 22-year-old man who was thrown from his speeding car after it toppled a power pole.
Jose Martinez-Torres of Fort Collins, who apparently was intoxicated, was rushed to a local hospital where he was undergoing treatment for serious injuries including burns, said Drew Jurkofsky, Fort Collins police spokesman.
“He’s lucky to have had several people willing to run into the fire and pull him out,” Jurkofsky said. “I don’t think there is any doubt they saved his life.”
A police officer and passerby who pulled Martinez-Torres from the fire were treated for minor burns at a local hospital and released, Jurkofsky said.
Martinez-Torres was driving north very fast on County Road 5 at about 2:40 a.m. near Prospect Road when his 1997 Lincoln Continental drifted off the road, crashed into a bridge guardrail and slammed into a power pole, toppling the pole and ejecting Martinez-Torres from his car.
“The pole was sheared off at the ground,” Jurkofsky said.
A resident who lived nearby heard the collision and called 911, he said.
Martinez-Torres was trapped under the door of his car as the fallen power pole ignited a small grass fire. A police officer spotted Martinez-Torres near power lines, he said. He was entangled in guy wire.
The officer and bystander together pulled him from the flames while other police officers put out the grass fire with fire extinguishers.
The intersection of County Road 5 and Prospect Road was closed for about eight hours while police investigated and Xcel Energy crews worked to repair the power lines.
The investigation is continuing and charges are pending. Police believe alcohol and excessive speed contributed to the accident.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, or
