SUFFOLK, Va. — A Christmas morning car crash in Suffolk left a woman seriously injured after her SUV hit a power pole and then crashed into the side of the Howell Dentistry building, sparking a fire that required multiple fire crews to extinguish.
The wreck happened just after 7:15 a.m. on North Main Street, according to Suffolk Fire Chief Michael Barakey.
Samantha Mallory was in her nearby home on Dumville Lane when she heard the crash.
"My fiancé had the door open, and we heard — bam, bam," Mallory said.
Wearing only socks on her feet, Mallory ran to help the trapped driver before emergency responders arrived on scene.
"As I'm running up to the car, I told her, 'You need to get out the car, you need to get out the car, you need to get out the car,'" Mallory said.
Mallory said before fire or police officials arrived, she tried her best to help the driver out of the fiery vehicle.
"I ran up to her window, her window was basically inside the building, and I tucked my arms underneath her and I pulled her through the window," Mallory said.
After helping the driver escape, Mallory said they crawled away from the burning vehicle.
"We didn't crawl, we army crawled, away from the car cause I told her we had to go... I knew the car was going to blow up. I knew it," Mallory said.
Mallory said that shortly after she and the driver were far enough from the flames, Suffolk Fire arrived.
Barakey said firefighters worked to put out the fire from inside the building. The blaze was under control by just after 8 a.m.
The driver of the vehicle was transported to a trauma center with serious injuries.
"I really hope she's OK because since this morning I have only thought about her and her well-being," Mallory said.
