An El Cajon couple helped to rescue a woman and a child injured in a rollover accident Easter Sunday.
Carlos Salazar and girlfriend Liz Gonzalez know nothing about the victims, not even their names, but their first meeting here at eastbound on-ramp to State Route 54 was unforgettable.
“I was really nervous. I was really scared and just wanted to make sure the mother and that child were ok,” Gonzalez said.
The victim had flipped her car right in front of the couple.
After calling 911 Gonzalez shot video of the crash scene with her phone.
Salazar says he and some other holiday travelers pulled to the side of the freeway to help the couple inside the vehicle.
He found her frantic 5-year-old son still strapped in a child seat.
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Salazar crawled in the back and with a little elbow grease was able to wrestle the belt loose, freeing the boy.
The driver suffered cuts to her arm and hand. Her son had what looked to be minor injuries.
The couple and others waited with them until rescue crews arrived.
Salazar said his actions were instinctual.
“My parents always taught me to help others in need, to give the shirt off your back. We should be there for one another and hopefully someone would do the same for me,” Salazar said.
Salazar comes by his first responder skills honestly. He credits the Chula Vista Explorer Program, in which he was once enrolled, for teaching him how to stay calm and think through emergency situations .
