In the first 15 minutes of June 23, the Alexandria Police Department received a call for a car crash. The caller reported that a person was trapped inside a burning car.

Sergeant Chris Flood and Officer Humberto Alex Trapero were the first on the scene. The arrived to find the car in a yard, engulfed in flames, smashed against a tree. The driver was visible but not moving.

Trapero and Flood approached the heat and growing flames to rescue the driver. They discovered the car doors were locked and with an unresponsive driver, Trapero was forced to smash through the passenger window with a pry bar. The duo then dragged the unconscious driver out of the passenger door through the flames and as small explosion threw debris which hit Trapero on the head and back. 

Trapero found lacerations on one of his arms but chose to report their injuries, considering them to be insignificant. The Alexandria Optimist Club did not deem either of their actions insignificant, however.

They were honored by the Alexandria Optimist Club for bravery in the line of duty last week at the Belle Haven Country Club.