Army Ranger pulls military brother from burning car: ‘If not me, then who?’

TACOMA, Wash. (KOMO) - An Army Ranger jumped into action to help a fellow military member trapped inside a burning car after he crashed on the interstate.

Army Ranger Joe Thach didn’t expect to come across a burning car with a man trapped inside Friday while driving down Interstate 5 in Tacoma, Washington. But he quickly jumped into action to help save the man.

“As I looked, I noticed that nobody had stopped to help, and I thought, ‘Well, if not me, then who?’” Thach said.

The car was fully engulfed in flames after it collided with a barrier on the interstate.

“That’s somebody’s son, brother or dad, and immediately, it’s something that I thought that I would want someone to do that for someone I cared about,” Thach said.

With 18 years of military experience, Thach says his background and training helped him pull the man from the burning car.

“I knew that if I didn’t act immediately that it would probably get worse, given the danger of the fire in the car and the traffic,” Thach said. “It was at that time I decided to go through the algorithm in my head with the training that I’m aware of to help this guy as much as I could.”

As soon as he pulled the man from the car, Thach says the two shared a touching moment. He later found out the man was also in the military.

“I remember he reached out to me and grabbed my hand. He was like, ‘I really need a brother right now.’ I grabbed his hand and let him know that he would be OK, fully understanding that it was a pretty rough day for him and letting him know that I was there for him,” Thach said.

The Washington State Patrol says the driver was the only one inside the car, and he is expected to be OK. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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