Good Samaritan, police rescue five people from fiery South Pasadena crash; driver suspected of DUI

SOUTH PASADENA >> A good Samaritan and police pulled five people from an overturned, burning car early Sunday following an alleged DUI crash at Fair Oaks Avenue and Huntington Drive, authorities said.
The crash took place just before 2 a.m., South Pasadena police Sgt. Brian Solinsky said.
A 21-year-old Glendora woman was driving a 2012 Mazda sedan south on Fair Oaks Avenue at high speed when she lost control while trying to make a left turn onto Huntington Drive, Solinsky said.
“The car struck a center median and then a mailbox and fire hydrant on the south sidewalk of Huntington, shearing off the hydrant,” police said in a written statement. “The car just missed hitting a tree, struck a sign and wall, flipped over and landed on its roof.”
“Four adult females, including the driver, were able to crawl from the wreckage with the help of passersby after one of the female passengers kicked out a window,” according to the statement.
But a man who had been knocked unconscious in the crash was still inside when police arrived on scene, Solinsky said. The car was rapidly becoming engulfed in flames.
Officers smashed a window with a baton and pulled the unconscious man to safety, Solinsky said.
By the time the fire was extinguished,the car was “torched,” Solinksy said, adding that he doubted anyone left inside the burning car could have survived.
The driver and four passengers were all taken to a hospital for treatment, the sergeant said.
The driver, a 21-year-old Glendora woman whose name was not available Sunday, suffered injuries described as moderate, Solinsky said. They appeared to include injuries to her head and face.
The woman had not been formally arrested Sunday afternoon due to her injuries, but was expected to face a felony drunken driving case, Solinsky said.
The four passengers, residents of Glendora and Azusa who were also in their early-20s, suffered injuries described by police as minor.

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