Off-duty firefighters save woman in burning car after East Kingston crash, police say

EAST KINGSTON — Police say a woman is in stable condition after being pulled from a burning vehicle by two off-duty firefighters who witnessed her crash into an utility pole Saturday.

East Kingston police said Jamaica Johnson, 35, of Epping, was driving northbound on Route 107 near Apple Hill Golf Course, where she left the travel lane and struck the pole. The crash, reported at 3:18 p.m., caused Johnson’s black 2022 Dodge Challenger to catch fire, according to police, and the pole to fall on a 2020 Jeep Wrangler driven by Paul Buccheri, 50, of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Already on the scene was off-duty East Kingston firefighter Robert Bishop, who had just left the station for the day. Bishop was driving, police said, when his vehicle was nearly struck head-on by Johnson’s car before it hit the utility pole. They said Bishop then pulled over to help.

Another off-duty firefighter, Joshua Abbott, from Chelmsford, Massachusetts, drove by the accident and assisted, according to East Kingston police and fire. They said Abbott and Bishop pulled Johnson from the burning vehicle, and East Kingston officer Brandon Cooper then pulled her further away to safety.

Johnson was taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to East Kingston Police Chief Michael LePage. He said the driver of the Jeep, Buccheri, is not believed to have been transported after the crash.

LePage said the actions of the off-duty firefighters were "paramount" in rescuing Johnson.

"For public safety officers to put their lives on the line even though they might not be working, to jump right in there and to pull a patient from a burning car, is pretty special," LePage said.

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East Kingston police said the crash is under investigation, and excessive speed appears to be a factor.

Police closed Route 107, also known as East Road, from Main Street to the Kensington town line until 4:30 a.m. Sunday while utility crews replaced the broken pole and downed utility lines. East Kingston police and fire were assisted by South Hampton police, Kensington police, Exeter fire, Kensington fire, Kingston fire, and Exeter Hospital ALS paramedics.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Off-duty firefighters save woman in burning car in East Kingston, NH