Construction workers rescued a woman from her burning car after she crashed and fell some 400 feet off a scenic overlook, sparking a field fire near Capitol Hill on Friday morning.
Salt Lake City fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze, but the five construction workers saved the 33-year-old woman's life, said fire department spokesman Jasen Asay.
"They're the heroes in this," he said. "They had to use hammers to pry open the door and pulled her out of the burning vehicle."
The woman was on Churchhill Drive (980 North) when she came to a narrow scenic overlook about 7:15 a.m., Asay said. Her car went between two boulders and careened off the road. She fell at least 400 feet over Sandhurst Drive (9 West) and down the hill.
One of the workers, 15-year-old Josh Jessop, said they watched the car go over the cliff.
"We just ran down there," Jessop said. "We see the smoke and everything. Grass is starting on fire. The car was on fire and there's a woman in there.
"So one of the guys got his hammer and just ripped open the door and just pulled her out," Jessop added.
The men wanted to avoid public attention, asking the fire department to not disclose their names or the name of their construction company, Asay said.
"We're not heroes," Jessop said after a reporter found him Friday afternoon.
"If we would have got there any later, she would have been burned or even dead," Jessop added.
Firefighters are investigating whether the fall was intentional.
She suffered a seatbelt burn and singed hair, but was conscious when she was taken to a local hospital in serious condition for treatment.
Twitter: @lwhitehurst
