LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Lakeport woman escaped injury after the county's district attorney pulled her from her burning vehicle early Sunday morning.
District Attorney Don Anderson happened to be passing by when he saw the vehicle catching fire and stopped to pull Jillian Roxanne Whitney, 33, to safety.
Firefighters were first dispatched to a vehicle fire in the area of Highway 175/Hopland Grade and Dixon Drive at about 1:19 p.m. Sunday morning, according to radio traffic.
California Highway Patrol Officer Joe Wind separately confirmed that the agency's dispatch center received a report of the vehicle catching fire.
Anderson said he had just dropped his granddaughter off at her home – she had returned late at night from a school field trip – and was heading back to his own home when he saw a vehicle parked on the side of the road.
Driving past the car, he noticed the smell of burning rubber. So he turned around and went back, at which time he saw the entire back end of the vehicle was on fire.
Anderson, a former deputy sheriff, said he called 911 and then went to the car, where he found Whitney passed out in the driver’s seat, with the vehicle filling with smoke.
“I just grabbed her by the shoulders and drug her out across the field,” he said.
About 30 seconds later the entire vehicle went up in flames, Anderson said.
He said he was just lucky being at the right place, at the right time.
After Whitney woke up, Anderson wouldn't let her leave the scene, noting that she was intoxicated. He said she became angry that he wouldn't let her go.
The CHP placed Whitney under arrest for misdemeanor driving under the influence.
She was booked at the Lake County Jail, with bail set at $5,000. Jail records indicated she later posted the required portion of bail and was released.
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