Motorcyclist: Heroes lifted car, saved me

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah motorcyclist who was pinned under a burning car after a collision expressed his gratitude yesterday to strangers who lifted the 4,000-pound vehicle to rescue him.

"They saved my life," Brandon Wright told The Associated Press from his hospital bed.

Wright, 21, was riding his motorcycle Monday near the Utah State University campus in Logan when he collided with a black BMW that was pulling out of a parking lot, authorities said.

Tire and skid marks on the highway indicate that Wright laid the bike down and slid along the road before colliding with the car, Assistant Police Chief Jeff Curtis said.

The bike hit the car's hood and bounced to the ground, while Wright, who was not wearing a helmet, slid under the car. Then both vehicles burst into flames, Curtis said.

A group of about 10 men and women rushed to help, tilting the car up to free Wright, who was trapped under it.

"Every one of those people put their lives in danger," Curtis said. "Those people are heroes. You can only speculate what the outcome would have been if they hadn't lifted that car and waited for the emergency service personnel to get up there."

Construction workers from a campus building project also grabbed fire extinguishers to try to put out the flames.

Chris Garff, a media production specialist for the university, caught the rescue on video. He was on the ninth floor of a university building shooting a promotional video at the time when he looked out of the window and saw black smoke billowing from the road.

"I turned the camera toward it and started to record," said Garff, adding that Wright's motorcycle was engulfed in flames. "It was a remarkable thing to see 10 to 12 people lift that car and pull him out."

Once one side of the car was lifted, a construction worker in a hard hat and a lime green T-shirt can be seen dragging Wright from under the car.

Yesterday, Wright was expected to be moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. He had two broken legs, a broken pelvis, burns and abrasions.

The driver of the BMW, John Johnson, had minor injuries.