Officer pulls driver from flaming wreckage

Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.
Photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.

Correction: A previous version of this story had the order of the accident incorrect due to an error from the sheriff’s department. We apologize for the error.

An off-duty law enforcement officer pulled a man from the wreckage of a burning vehicle in Bartholomew County last night.

The sheriff’s department is reporting that a car was on fire, with the driver trapped inside, at U.S. 31 and Marketplace Drive at about 9 p.m. last night after a crash. The driver, identified as 40-year-old Jeremy Osborne was flown by Lifeline helicopter to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis in critical condition.

The unidentified officer and a tow truck driver came upon the wreckage and while the tow truck driver extinguished the fire, the officer pulled Osborne from the vehicle, says Judy Jackson, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department.

Bruce Beadle of Benton, Ill., was driving southbound on U.S. 31 in an SUV when he was hit from behind by Osborne’s vehicle. Beadle was not injured in the crash.

The accident remains under investigation.