Man rescued from burning vehicle arrested on drug charges; rescuer speaks out about ordeal

GEISMAR, La. (WAFB) - A man has been arrested after officials rescued him from a burning vehicle in Geismar Wednesday, Nov. 9.

According to a spokesman with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a parking lot accident at a gas station on Hwy 30 around 6:17 p.m.

According to Geismar Fire Chief Nat Stephens, the call came in about a fire at the TNT Express.

Upon arrival, deputies found one of the vehicles still in gear with flames coming from the back. The fire was extinguished with the help of a bystander. Deputies were able to rescue the driver from the car, authorities report.

Dexton Weber, 36, was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, officials have confirmed.

WATCH THE RESCUE BELOW

Jessie Mcnemar stopped by the gas station before work, and is the person who saved the man passed out in the vehicle.

“Shoot the f****** window out,” said the person recording the incident.

It was the sound of desperation, after a car is on fire with a driver passed out at the wheel.

“Break the G** D*** window.”

“Nobody really knew what to do, including me at that point. I mean, I was just kind of mind blown that this was going on,” said Jessie Mcnemar.

Mcnemar was with one of his friends, when he stopped by the TNT Express in Geismar on his way to work..

“And as I was walking out the gas station at this point, there was no smoke. He (driver) was just bumping and hitting the other car at this point. And then that’s when all hell broke lose and his foot hit the pedal,” said Mcnemar.

The car with Dexton Weber passed out inside of it, rammed into another vehicle, barely missing the inside of the station itself.

Because his foot was on the gas, smoke began to rise.

“It was just scary for most people to be around in that situation, and even me. I was running around trying to figure out, okay, what are we going to do here. We’ve got to make this stop,” said Mcnemar.

“Break the window with the exterminator or whatever it is, break it,” said the woman holding the phone.

Folks nearby screaming for Mcnemar to step in and try and stop the fire...

“At that point I was able to run, grab the fire extinguisher from the clerk, pull the pin on it, get the fire out. And then I used the fire extinguisher to bust the glass out, and reach in and unlock the door and get the door open. As soon as I pulled the door open, you can see in the video, the police were standing behind me, walking behind my back. I had no idea, they had even arrived on the scene,” said Mcnemar.

He knows this situation could’ve turned out a lot worse. And he’s got one message for the driver.

“So, he put a lot of people in danger trying to help him. So I hope he you know sees this video, and he moves on in a better direction with his life from that. And something positive comes out of this,” said Mcnemar.

The man was transported to a local hospital.

While conducting an inventory of the vehicle prior to towing, deputies found heroin and drug paraphernalia. A search warrant for a blood draw from Dexton was approved and completed.

After being discharged from the hospital, Dexton was arrested and booked into the Ascension Parish Jail.

Dexton was charged with operating while intoxicated - second, possession of heroin, and prohibited act - drug paraphernalia, according to APSO.

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