An Oklahoma Corporation Commission Transportation Division Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officer is being recognized for his bravery after rescuing a crash victim from a burning car on Interstate-40 last month.

At 12:40 p.m. on August 20, Officer Hunter Cantrell was off-duty and driving eastbound on I-40 toward Sequoyah County when he witnessed a white Ford Focus speeding past him on the shoulder to pass two semi-trucks. Moments later, the driver lost control, swerved across both lanes of traffic, and slammed into the median separating eastbound and westbound lanes. Cantrell quickly turned his personal vehicle around using a median cut-through and returned to the crash site. When he arrived, the driver was still inside the mangled vehicle, suffering from severe lacerations and an apparent skull fracture. Flames had begun to appear in the engine compartment.

A fellow officer – the assistant police chief of Stigler, who had also stopped at the scene – attempted to retrieve a fire extinguisher, while Cantrell called 911 and immediately began working to free the semi-conscious driver.

Despite jagged metal and glass surrounding the vehicle, Cantrell, who also volunteers as a firefighter, pulled the victim from the wreckage. He later said he knew waiting for help was not an option.

“I refused to let a man burn to death,” Cantrell said, adding that he relied on his training and instincts to act quickly.

The driver was moved to safety and awaited paramedics, who soon arrived to take over care.

For his actions, Cantrell received a Commendation of Honor from Oklahoma’s three Corporation Commissioners – Chairman Todd Hiett and Commissioners Bob Anthony and Brian Bingman – during a ceremony on September 9.

The commissioners praised Cantrell for putting “faith and principle before self,” calling his efforts a shining example of the caliber of public servants working at the Corporation Commission.