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WATCH: New Mexico Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales helps rescue man from rolled truck; realizes it’s his friend

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico -- Lt. Governor Howie Morales was driving from Doña Ana county to Las Vegas, NM Friday to present a commencement speech for New Mexico Highlands University's graduation.

As he was coming up over a hill just south of Truth or Consequences, he saw a white truck roll over.

"It was a scary scene" said Morales, who spoke with ABC-7 Sunday.

He and other motorists on I-25 pulled over to assist with the accident scene. They began to help to pull him out by breaking out the back window after realizing pulling him out of the windshield would potentially hurt the man more.

The man then spoke, and Morales immediately recognized him as his friend John Baumberger.

"John has a very distinctive voice, and as he started to come out, I immediately recognized it was him" said Morales. He added that once he identified himself, he could sense calmness in Baumberger.

"I wanted to ensure him that he was taken care of."

Baumberger was transported to nearby hospital, and has since been released. According to Morales, he is recovering and doing well.

Morales stressed how important it is for motorists to slow down near scenes of accidents.

"Debris that comes off of the road, off of vehicles is extremely dangerous, and you never want to put any law enforcement officer, firefighter, or EMS personnel in danger of having harm done to them while they're assisting people" he added.

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Jason McNabb

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