Off-duty deputy, KCPD detective rescue man from burning truck on I-35 near Claycomo

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Video released Wednesday captured the moments a Kansas City, Missouri, police detective and a Clay County deputy rescued a 70-year-old man from a burning truck on Interstate 35 near Claycomo.

Around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, the driver of a white Ford F-150 pickup was heading south on I-35 near the Interstate 435 interchange in Claycomo when the pickup caught on fire.

KCPD Detective Jason Findley was also headed south on the interstate and spotted the burning vehicle. He got out of his vehicle and rushed to the truck, where he was, just a couple of seconds later, joined by Clay County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chase Blatt, who was off duty at the time.

Video shows Findley pulling the man from the burning vehicle, with Blatt helping move the victim away from the pickup, which later exploded.

"I'd say surreal is the best way to describe the entire situation," Findley said. "Because you train. You think that at any time, anything could happen, and then it does. It's kind of like you train your entire career to help people, and then all of a sudden, the opportunity is there."

KSHB 41/Fabian Rosales

For Blatt, driving past the scene was not an option.

"We're officers, deputies. We feel like we don't stop," Blatt said. "It feels like I was there for the purpose I was meant to be there for."

Findley echoed that sense of duty.

"It's kind of what we sign up for," Findley said.

Blatt said he believes something greater put both officers at the scene at the right moment.

"I definitely feel like it was an outside source from God that placed a couple of officers there to help this guy out," Blatt said.

KSHB 41/Fabian Rosales

According to the Clay County Sheriff's Office, the driver was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of burns to his legs.

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