Tennessee officer pulls man from burning truck

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — A Tennessee police officer is being called a hero after pulling a man from a burning truck. The entire scene was captured by the officer's body camera.

"Once the impact happened, it was game on for me to try to get him out," Officer Garry Brown told WKRN.

Dash cam from Brown's cruiser shows the beginning of a violent chain reaction accident. The Ashland officer was traveling down the highway when suddenly, a Ford F-150 crossed the center line and struck the rear of the cruiser, forcing Brown to skid off the road.

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Fortunately, Brown was unhurt, "I feel blessed. Someone above me was praying for me on that particular day," said Brown. But there wasn't time to reflect on the close call.  The Ford continued on and hit a flatbed truck behind Brown's cruiser head-on. The Ford then flipped down a hill.

Brown's body cam shows him running toward the chaos caused by the Ford. "I saw the fire in the truck, noticed the fire coming out of the engine compartment," said Brown. Brown, a former sergeant in the Army, says his instincts and training kicked in.

Brown first tried to smash the glass with his baton before he managed to pry open the driver's door.

"I gotta get you out, the truck's on fire," Brown is heard yelling on the body camera video. Brown put the semi-conscious driver on his shoulder and carried him away from the truck.

By this time, motorists who had stopped quickly helped the tired officer drag the man away from the burning truck. "Try and get him up on the hill for me. Try and get him up there," Brown can be heard saying.

According to the police chief, this is the second life saved by Brown in his short time with Ashland City police. "The only thing I was worried about was that fire. I didn't know how big an explosion was going to take place. I was worried about saving lives in the event that vehicle did explode," said Brown.

The crash remains under investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

No charges have been filed.

CNN/WKRN