Woman saved from car on fire outside Columbus

A Columbus fire lieutenant, along with three bystanders, helped remove a driver from a car on fire on Highway 151 Thursday morning, according to a release from the Columbus Fire Department.

According to the release, the Columbus Fire Department and LifeStar EMS responded to a report of a one-vehicle rollover accident on the highway near Columbus at 10:48 a.m. At that time, Columbus Fire Lt. Jerrod Fox was returning to Columbus from the Madison area and happened to be about a mile from the crash.

Upon Fox’s arrival, he found the car on fire in the southbound ditch and several people on the scene. He guided three bystanders in helping to open the driver’s door, untangle the woman’s feet and remove her from the car before it was destroyed by fire, the release said.

The release said the driver was a 68-year-old woman from Columbus. The three bystanders who helped were Cherno Chanbum of Madison, Richard Iorio of Saukville and Zachary Bart of Sourth Barrington, Illinois.

According to the release, the car rolled several times and landed on tall, dry grass, which fed the fire. The driver was transferred to Columbus Community Hospital and then UW Hospital via Med-Flight.