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Tito Jackson pretty much saved the young man's life, said one of the New Jersey State Police troopers who responded to the crash near the southbound tolls in Saddle Brook shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 1.
Some may remember Jackson, a former Bogota mayor who has decades of EMS experience.
"The car left the roadway pretty much right in front of us and hit the sound barrier," Jackson told Daily Voice shortly after the crash. "The flames were already in the interior compartment when I got to him and pulled him out.
"The car was consumed by fire within a minute."
The driver, who told Jackson that he works at a Domino's Pizza in Bergen County, apparently sustained a head injury.
He was talking with one of the troopers as firefighters doused the flaming Toyota Camry when he suffered an apparent seizure and collapsed, Jackson said.
An ambulance took the driver to the trauma unit at Hackensack University Medical Center, he said.
"I hope he's gonna be OK," Jackson said. "He had some significant injuries.
"I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time."
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