There was a whooshing sound and then the underside of the Audi burst into flames where it crashed at the side of Route 2A on the Fitchburg-Lunenburg line early Saturday morning.
Off-duty state police Trooper Dan Jones had just left the Bootlegger restaurant in Lunenburg where he had a sandwich with friends.
"I saw the car coming toward me at Godfrey's, and they were going so fast I said, 'There is no way they are going to make the corner,' " Jones recalled yesterday.
The car skidded sideways as it crossed the parking lot in front of Godfrey's Grille & Pizzeria.
It hit cement stanchions, an electricity meter, a utility pole and the Fitchburg city line marker that were clustered together.
Jones pulled up to the side to help.
"As I was doing that, the driver actually climbed out the driver's side window and ran around the back of the car screaming," Jones said.
That's when Jones heard a loud whoosh and saw flames break out between the rear wheels.
"I approached her and tried to determine if she was OK," he said. "She was yelling and screaming so it was hard to understand and 15 or 20 seconds later she said, 'Oh my God, my friend is still in the car!' "
The driver, Mary Heline, 22, of Fitchburg, tried to climb back into the car, but Jones knew she was not big enough to help the man inside.
He pulled Heline out of the way and looked inside, where the man was lying unconscious across the front seats.
Flames were already in the passenger compartment and the door handle was jammed.
There was some space between the window frame and the car. Jones grabbed the door and gave it three or four yanks before it opened.
Jones is about 6 feet 5 inches tall and 220 pounds.
He pulled out the passenger, whose name was not released, and dragged him by the hands about 25 feet.
An unidentified woman wearing hospital scrubs stopped to offer help about that time.
The fire continued to grow and something in the car popped, so they decided to drag the man farther away.
"The second time I moved him, he started to gain consciousness," Jones said. "Nothing coherent, but he said his name, his first name, and that he didn't know what happened."
The passenger was taken to HealthAllliance Hospital in Leominster, and then to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. He was listed in stable condition Saturday afternoon.
Heline was charged with operating under the influence of alcohol.
Jones' supervisor, state police Detective Lt. Jeanne Stewart, said she is nominating him for an award for his courageous action.
"This does not surprise me at all that it was Dan involved in rescuing these two people," Stewart said. "We are very proud of him and his actions and are just glad it had a successful outcome."
Jones is familiar with fire.
He joined the Lunenburg Fire Department when he was 16 and stayed for 10 years, including three years as a full-time firefighter.
The Lunenburg resident was hired by state police about 6 1/2 years ago.
Jones is assigned as a fire and explosion investigator attached to the State Fire Marshal's Office in the Devens barracks.
He was awarded a Division Commander's Award for trying to save the life of a neighbor a few years ago.
"It was across from my house," Jones said. "I pulled a guy back and did CPR on him but he didn't make it. Then I had to do the investigation."
He received another award for his work helping to solve the case of a couple of Shrewsbury boys who burned a strip mall in Northboro and a teacher's car a few years ago.
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