EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A Fort Bliss soldier will receive the El Paso Police Department’s Life Saving Award for action he took that likely saved the life of a driver involved in a crash early Saturday morning at McRae and Gateway East.
Video of the incident has been making the rounds on social media here.
The 21-year-old Fort Bliss soldier, whom police did not identify, was traveling east on Interstate 10 when he noticed a white BMW being driven erratically and swerving across freeway lanes until the driver lost control and crashed.
His passenger began taking video of the incident with her cell phone.
The vehicle caught fire with the driver apparently unconscious still inside.
“Without hesitation and with disregard for his own safety, the soldier immediately acted to extract the driver, shortly before the vehicle became engulfed in flames,” the police press release stated.
Police said they are not releasing the soldier’s name because he is a witness in a case where criminal charges may be filed against the driver.
KTSM, however, learned the identify of the soldier, Alexyz Mayorga, and spoke to him. We also have video taken by his passenger, Karla Araujo.
“If I wasn’t there, probably nobody would have took him out. That car caught on flames fast, and that flame got huge within like seconds of me taking him out,” Mayorga said.
Mayorga said his military training is what made him spring into action. He also said he found the driver was without a seatbelt.