San Jacinto Times Editor-in-chief, Aaron Preston, pulled a driver from a fiery car crash on the FM 1960 bridge over Lake Houston during the early morning hours of Feb. 8.

Preston was driving behind the vehicle, when he saw the car take a hard left turn, roll, and crash into the side of the bridge. He quickly intervened calling for emergency assistance.

“I dialed 911 at 4:22 a.m.,” Preston said. “I had never seen anything like this happen in front of me. All I could think was, ‘Oh my God.’”

After the vehicle had come to a stop, Preston said he witnessed the 21-year-old driver, identified only as James, fall from the overturned vehicle through the shattered windshield.

“Dispatch told me that if I was comfortable with moving the body, I could,” he said. “I was balancing my phone between my shoulder and ear.”

According to Preston, he knew the situation became dire when he heard the “hiss of the gas tank” and flames started to spew from the side of the car.

“I cradled my hands around his shoulders,” Preston said, “and pulled him as far as I could away from the vehicle, as the fire swallowed the vehicle.”

When authorities arrived, the driver was responsive and moving, he added.

“Once I realized that the driver would be okay, and the authorities had it under control,” Preston said, “I washed the blood off of my hands and drove home.”

The condition of the driver is unknown.

Multiple San Jacinto Times staff members contributed to this report.