Navy sailor rescues driver from burning car but mother’s vehicle lost to flames

A Navy sailor fresh out of boot camp rushed to save the occupant of a burning car, but the flames engulfed his mother’s vehicle during the rescue.

Both the sailor and his mother were unhurt.

Fireman William Thompson had just arrived at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, with his mother when he heard what sounded like an explosion.

A car parked nearby had burst into flames after the driver had suffered a medical emergency, local police told ABC News. Thompson said he and his mother were about 20 feet away from the fire.

When he saw a person in the car, he jumped into action.

“It was less than 15 seconds before I was over there punching the window out,” Thompson said, according to a Navy news release on the Oct. 25 event. After Thompson broke the window, other bystanders helped