Page 41 - January 2018

th istrict of cers react ickl to resc e oman from vehicle
n BY NICK SWEDBERG
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when a Jeep Chero- kee passed Officers Victor Alcazar and Rene Arriazola early in the morning hours of Dec. 20. The roads were clear and it was dark, but nothing obvious would have suggested that the SUV driven by a 27-year-old woman was about to veer hard, jump a curb and smash head on into a light pole.
“My partner and I get there and we see...that she’s trapped under the dashboard,” said Alcazar, who has 20 years on the job.
With EMS called but still on the way, smoke and flames started pouring from the engine block. The five total officers who all hit the scene quickly knew that they had only mo- ments to free the woman before the fire would spread.
Alcazar and Arriazola, both members of 24th District, had been on patrol as part of the department’s violence reduction initiative. That’s how they found themselves northbound on Kedzie Avenue near 13th.
Three officers from the 10th District were not far behind.
“As soon as we got out of our squad car, we saw the flames,” said Officer Juan Paez, a nine-year veteran.
Officers Paez, Brandon Baylian and Elkin Jimenez worked furiously to help the victim. The Jeep’s dashboard had come forward, pinning the woman’s legs. Officers initially tried to carefully free her, being careful not to cause her too much pain. They were also mindful of any potential neck or head injuries she might have sustained. But the flames grew hot- ter and bigger.
“We started feeling the heat on ourselves and made the decision to move her out now,” said Baylian, who joined CPD five years ago.
“I remember thinking I didn’t want her to die in front of my eyes,” he said.
Space was tight inside the Jeep. Only a couple of officers had enough room to actually get their hands on the crash victim.
“Any movement would probably hurt,” said Jimenez, also a five-year veteran. “But when I saw the flames, I had no choice but to grab her knees.”
Officers made the tough decision, pushing through con- cerns for their own safety and screams from the trapped woman, to pull her quickly from the car. The rescue couldn’t have at a better moment. Heat from the engine fire grew so intense that half of a front window was melted by the time the fire was put out.
“We saved her life,” Baylian said.
It likely was a “once-in-a-career” save for those five offi- cers, even if they might think it was just another day on the job. Paez said he went to Mount Sinai Hospital, where the woman was treated for injuries that included dislocated kneecaps.
“She doesn’t remember much, other than saying thank you,” Paez said. d
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2018 41