Michigan City Police, Fire and bystanders rescue woman from burning vehicle

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- Michigan City Police, Michigan City Fire and bystanders helped rescue a woman from a burning vehicle early Friday afternoon after a tree limb fell onto the vehicle.

Michigan City Police received a call about the single vehicle crash around 12:45 p.m. Friday.

Police Chief Mark Swistek and day shift supervisor Corporal Jeff Piotrowski arrived to the scene and found a Chevy Trailblazer engulfed in flames with a large tree limb across the front compartment.

The injured driver, a young woman, was pinned inside the burning vehicle.

A third officer, Patrolman Kyle Shiparski, and several citizens in the area cleared portions of the tree limb from the vehicle and used a fire extinguisher to try to keep the fire under control.

The Michigan City Fire Department arrived and used the Jaws of Life to extricate the woman from her vehicle. They also extinguished the fire.

The woman was taken to the hospital but will be flown to a trauma center.

The investigation revealed the tree limb broke off just as her car approached the intersection. Crews responded to remove the tree.

In the press release, the department thanked those who assisted in this crash.

"Chief Mark Swistek would like to publicly thank the concerned citizens who rendered assistance along with the Fire, EMS, Central Services, and our City Arborist for all their assistance in this unfortunate occurrence."