PHOENIX — A man is in serious condition after a car crashed into a building and caught fire near 7th Avenue and Indian School Road on Friday night, firefighters said.
Bystanders helped the man in the car get out before the fire department arrived. He was later taken to a nearby hospital.
Phoenix Police have not identified the man or what caused the crash.
"It was one of those things that you were afraid to run in the building but it was the right thing to do," explains Anthony Hugger, a manager at Stacey's @ Melrose, a nearby bar.
Hugger said he and some of his staff and patrons rushed over to the car to help once they heard the crash.
"It was locked so we tried to break the window with some of the debris that was on the ground to no avail," he said.
"Then the fire started getting bigger underneath the rear of the car. So, I ran back with one of my employees and we grabbed all our fire extinguishers we could get."
He says they tried to put out the fire, while others worked to get into the car.
Hugger said they were eventually able to break the window and pull a man out of the driver's seat. He says they moved him to safety while waiting for first responders.
"It was rough," Hugger said. "Some of us broke down and cried. You just don’t think when you’re in that situation. You just do. When it was all over it was like surreal."
Firefighters and bystanders helped put out the car fire and kept it from spreading into the building.
Police are investigating the crash.