A news photojournalist became a hero Tuesday, carrying a pregnant woman out of a burning car in Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
WBRZ photographer Patrick Perry was on his way to an unrelated story as he was driving behind the 21-year-old woman, who lost control of her vehicle, went off the road and crashed into trees along the highway.
Perry stopped his news vehicle, carried the woman out of the sports car -- which caught fire -- and gently set her down on the pavement.
"We see a car burning and I say, 'Brittany, look that car is on fire.' I say, 'Go run and get the camera,’ just in case something happened so we can make sure we document everything because that's what we do. We're journalists," Perry said.
As Brittany went to get the camera, Perry took off running toward the burning car.
"I pull on the driver side. It did not want to open … looking for something on the ground to bust the window open, then I started hearing a voice, a very soft voice, very soft, and she said, 'I'm over here. I'm over here,’" Perry said. "So, I ran on the other side to get her. She said, 'I'm 7 and a half months pregnant.' I told her, I said, 'We fine. You're going to be safe. I'm going to get you out of here.’"
Meanwhile, the reporter with him grabbed a camera and recorded the whole thing.
The woman appeared confused but did not seem severely injured. Paramedics arrived and took her to a hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.
The woman’s unborn baby is also OK, according to her cousin.
Perry later reflected on the incident: "Feel a little different, you know. We normally go out and cover stories like this here and never be a part of the story. We're human first, you know, tell the story second."
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