HIGHLANDS — An unnamed family is planning a recovery trip for their teenage son instead of a funeral this week, thanks to the heroic efforts of a Good Samaritan and the Lone Peak and American Fork police departments.

The family left a written statement of thanks to the officers involved in the rescue, which was to be read during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The incident occurred at midnight on August 8, when Lone Peak Police Department Officer Austin Williams said he began searching for a vehicle and found it had crashed into a tree.

Williams further explained that the crash looked so severe that he was convinced it was a fatal disaster until he heard cries for help.

Dashcam footage shows the car crashing into a tree and bursting into flames shortly after the officer arrived. The video shows the officer getting out of his car and carefully approaching the vehicle before intervening when he realizes the driver is still alive.

“You see things like this in movies, but never in real life,” Williams said.

He said he immediately broke the driver’s side window to let in oxygen and tried to rip open the door, as seen in dashcam footage.

However, the impact caused the vehicle door to get stuck, so the officer had to wait for backup to arrive before taking further action.

Williams became emotional as he described these moments of helplessness.

“When he was screaming and looking at me and yelling at me to help him,” he said, “I could just watch a fellow human being in such pain and suffering and wish I could do something. And he saw me as the person who could save him, but I couldn’t.”

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for reinforcements to arrive.

Lone Peak and American Fork officials were on scene with fire extinguishers to continue life-saving efforts.

A 21-year-old man said he ran barefoot to the scene of the accident, about 45 meters away, to also ask how he could help.

The man helped by running back and forth to his house, where he filled buckets with water and poured them on the fire until the fire department arrived.

The 17-year-old was trapped in the vehicle and couldn’t escape. When Officer Zach Goodale of the American Fork Police Department arrived on the scene, he saw an opportunity to get him out.

“I saw a small crack in the door frame that would allow a tow rope to pass through,” Goodale said. “So I thought, why waste time?”

The car door burst open and the teenager was able to free himself.

Good Samaritan Landon Waldvogel, 21, said he saw the accident through the window of his girlfriend’s house and ran barefoot to the scene.

“I just put my feelings aside and tried to help him as best I could,” Waldvogel said.

Waldvogel said he ran about 50 yards back and forth to the house seven times to fill a bucket with water and douse the teenager and the car.

“If I were in this situation, of course I would want as much help as possible,” he said.

Several additional officers from both departments arrived at the scene to assist and save the teenager’s life.

“Thanks to their efforts, I did not have to watch this young man burn and die,” Williams said.

From the time the accident was discovered to the time it took officers to rescue the teenager from the vehicle, it took a total of 5 minutes and 15 seconds.

According to police, he is expected to make a full recovery; he only suffered a broken nose and second-degree burns, mainly on his back.