Central Coast nurse pulls man from burning vehicle after car accident

A Central Coast woman is being credited for saving the life of a man stuck in a burning vehicle.

The CHP tells us there was a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 101 in Gonzales on Wednesday morning.

Laurie Leonhardt, a nurse at CHOMP was driving home when she saw there was a person stuck in their vehicle on the center divider. As she got closer, the car caught fire and she raced to help the man open his door, as it was crushed shut.

The man’s leg was also jammed, but Leonhardt was able to help pull him out to safety.

Leonhardt tells us she left work early because she was not feeling well, but now thinks her early departure happened for a reason.

“I think if I would have been a minute earlier or a minute later, he might have been dead,” she says.

CHP tells us no one involved suffered major injuries.