Prep baseball teammates, Good Samaritan lauded in fiery rescue

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — Two quick-acting teens and a third good Samaritan are being hailed as heroes for rushing to save a man and woman trapped in a burning car that crashed in Southern California.

Alex Schrier and Jeffrey Bounds, both 16 and teammates on their high school baseball team, spotted the vehicle on its side and in flames late Friday along a road in Orange County.

Schrier called 911 while Bounds rushed to the car along with an unidentified man who also stopped to help.

“As I got closer I could see the flames getting closer and closer to the main part of the car, and I heard someone screaming,” Bounds said .

The man used a rock to break through the glass sunroof, and they pulled the trapped passengers — a man in his 20s and a woman in her 40s — out of the burning vehicle.

“We got them out and then it just started to just blow up,” Bounds said. “Honestly, I’ve never been more scared.”

The woman had head and shoulder injuries, county fire Capt. Steve Concialdi said. The male passenger had minor injuries. The cause is under investigation.

Concialdi commended the rescuers’ actions. “All three of them played a role to save those people,” he said.

Santa Margarita Catholic High School plans to honor Schrier and Bounds in the coming weeks.