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Pasco County Deputy Pulls Man from Burning Car

February 15, 2011 - New Port Richey, FL - When Edward Whalen, 63, swerved to avoid hitting a fellow motorist on February 12 he slammed into a power pole and his car flipped over, Tampabay.com has reported.

His hatchback erupted in flames and filled with smoke. Whalen dialed 911 and a Pasco County deputy who happened to be a mile away sped to the scene.

Kelly Endricks arrived within 2 minutes and saw the fire spreading. The power pole had fallen and electrical lines were scattered about.

Endricks used his steel baton to break the back window, but he wasn't able to get to Whalen. He then tried the sunroof. He broke the sunroof with his baton, shattering glass and releasing smoke.

He then grabbed Whalen, pulled him out of the burning vehicle, and walked him a safe distance from the car, which by then had become fully engulfed.

Emergency workers arrived and treated Whalen for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. Aside from a small scrape on his thumb, Pasco County Deputy Endricks was fine.

This was the first time Endricks had rescued anyone from a burning vehicle.

Although his friends are calling him a hero, the newspaper's website quoted Endricks as saying: "We do heroic things like this every day. They just go unnoticed."

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' 2009 Traffic Crash Statistics Report, there were 197,214 traffic crashes resulting in injury and 2,563 fatalities as a result of vehicle accidents in Florida.

As a service to the residents of Florida, our firm will frequently publish blogs about local traffic accidents. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents occurring in Florida that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.

Common accidents include, but are not limited to: 

• single-car accidents;
• accidents caused by hazardous road conditions; and
• accidents caused by distracted drivers or aggressive driving. 

If you have been named in this blog posting or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like it removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request 

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