(FOUNTAIN, Colo.) — A Fort Carson soldier who rescued a driver from a burning truck back in June spoke to FOX21 about his story.
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Courtesy of 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson
Platoon Sergeant Michael De La Rosa joined the military as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. De La Rosa’s ten years in the military would make him the hero he is today.
The soldier was traveling northbound on Interstate 25 towards his Soldier’s reenlistment at Garden of the Gods when he noticed the vehicle in front of him leaving the lane.
“That morning… I saw him crash into a construction vehicle and I stopped right behind him. I ran towards his vehicle just to make sure that he was okay… My first thought was to check to see if he was still alive,” De La Rosa said.
911 dispatchers told De La Rosa to stay away from the truck that was beginning to smoke for his own safety.
“But it’s a human life, right? I can’t sit there and watch while someone dies in front of me when I know I can do something about it… We were just doing what a decent human being would do,” said the Platoon Sergeant.
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Courtesy of 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson -
Courtesy of 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson
De La Rosa checked the driver’s pulse through a broken window as another good samaritan stopped to help. The doors of the truck were damaged shut with the unconscious driver still stuck inside as the engine caught fire.
“His door was crushed so [we] couldn’t get him out of there… Me and the other gentleman tried to get into the truck. The truck was locked… the civilian actually found a metal pipe and I was like, ‘hey, we’ve got to break this glass.’ And he swung at it, got the back window broken. And we were able to get in,” said De La Rosa.
The soldier said he was just doing what he hoped others would have done for him.
“There’s no better reward than actually knowing that we got him out and that he is home with his family… I have kids, so I would want to make it home to my kids, and I would like to make it home to my wife,” said De La Rosa.
De La Rosa and the good samaritan never got the chance to speak after that incident.
“I would say ‘Thank you for stopping and helping me out,’ because I was struggling by myself and I don’t know if I would have been able to take [the driver] out in time,” De La Rosa stated.