Woman Recalls Honking Horn After She Was Trapped in Burning …

An Arizona State University student is after she was momentarily trapped in her burning car before a police officer rescued her. 

“I’ve never felt that kind of heat where it’s so hot that it feels cold, like ice cold,” Asharie Montgomery told ABC affiliate KNXV. “I didn’t want to die, so that already encouraged me to stay positive and think of ways to get out.”

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of May 25 when a nearby Goodyear police officer noticed a multi-vehicle collision, with one vehicle fully covered in flames near 91st Avenue and Interstate 10. 

“Inside that burning vehicle, a lone female driver was honking her horn, desperately signaling for help,” the Goodyear Police Department stated in a news release at the time. “Without hesitation, our officer sprang into action. Smashing through the driver’s side window, he pulled the woman, who hair was on fire, from the vehicle.”

“He courageously worked to extinguish the flames, sustaining serious burns in the process, before finally using a fire extinguisher to douse the remaining fire,” police continued. 

The woman, later identified as Montgomery, then 18, was rescued and taken to a burn center in critical condition, authorities said. The police officer suffered burns but was expected to make a full recovery.

“His courage and quick thinking undoubtedly saved a life that night,” officials said of the heroic police officer.

PEOPLE reached out to the police department on Friday, Dec. 12.

In her recent interview with KNXV, Montgomery recalled that her car was allegedly rear-ended by another vehicle, which then sparked the fire. Police bodycam footage shared by the department showed the intensity of the flames from Montgomery’s burning vehicle.

Montgomery was trapped in her vehicle, so she honked her horn. 

“I was like honking my horn because I didn’t know what else to do. I can’t break the window,” Montgomery told KNXV.

That was when the officer, later identified as Dakota Berry, came to her aid.

Montgomery suffered burns on a third of her body, mostly on the left side, KNXV reported. She underwent multiple surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy. A GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help with Montgomery’s medical expenses and recovery. As of Friday, the campaign has raised about $52,000. 

“She is only 18, full of life, ambition, and strength,” the fundraiser description read. “Just this year, she proudly finished her freshman year at ASU, with dreams and goals of pursuing a career as a physical therapist. Those dreams now have to be put on hold as we focus on the most important mission — her healing.”

Ironically, Montgomery’s father is a Goodyear firefighter, the police department noted. 

Montgomery expressed gratitude to Berry and God for helping her survive. She told KNXV that she has switched her major at ASU from physical therapy to psychology so she could help others following her ordeal. 

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“I want to be the person that people can talk to,” she says, “like a therapist, about anything their hearts desire, and also have the belief and faith that everything is going to be OK because that’s what I kept wanting to know, like is everything going to be OK.”