‘I thought my life was over’: Nerve-wracking moment caught on camera shows woman rescued from fiery crash

MESA, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) - A woman in Arizona is happy to be alive after two emergency responders helped rescue her from a burning vehicle following a terrifying crash.

Aymee Ruiz was visibly emotional as she embraced Chandler Officer Brian Larison and Peoria firefighter-paramedic Asa Paguia — the two men who pulled her to safety after her truck went up in flames on U.S. 60 in Mesa.

Ruiz said: “I thought my life was over; I seriously thought it was. You just think of all the moments that you just had, your happy moments, and you just think it’s all going to be over from there. But you guys pulled through. I’m so happy. I’m so glad.”

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Ruiz was slowing down due to traffic congestion when a cement mixer rear-ended her pickup truck.

Both officers were in the right place at the right time. The collision caused Ruiz’s truck to catch fire as she was trapped inside.

A driver’s dash cam captured the devastating chain-reaction collision. Officer Larison’s helmet camera also showed the moment he and Paguia pulled Ruiz out of her vehicle.

Ruiz and her husband are thankful she’s alive, and that’s due to the heroic actions of the two first responders. She was rescued just seconds before the truck was fully engulfed in flames.

“When I saw it (the fire) moving closer and closer to the cab as I was trying to open the door and also bang on the window, I was screaming for help, screaming, screaming for help,” she said. “I was so relieved once that window broke, but I knew I had to get out of there quickly because of the oxygen and just everything getting in there, and it just was crazy.”