Rescued: Good Samaritans Hailed as Heroes for Saving a Man From His Burning Car

Aug. 20, 2010— -- A California man is counting his blessings after two good Samaritans risked their lives to free him from his burning car, a good deed the men say was simply instinct.

"I'll do it again. I wasn't going to let the guy burn," Steve Sotello told "Good Morning America." "There was no way I'm going to leave him in there."

Sotello said he was stopped at a red light, admiring Robert Edlefsen's classic 1932 Ford Victoria, when the car was rear-ended by a woman who didn't slow for the light.

When the car exploded, Sotello jumped from his car, screaming for help when he couldn't open Edlefsen's car door to free him.

He was immediately joined by a village of strangers who joined forces in Sherman Oaks, Calif., to free a man they had never met.

The first to aide Sotello was Chris Oxley, who had been driving his 12-year-old son to a ball game.

"We saw a fireball explode up in the air and then we saw smoke go up at least two stories high," Oxley said, adding that the accident scared his son. "I told him, 'It'll be all right but we have to take a look here, I want to make sure everyone is all right.'"

Hearing Sotello's pleas for help, Oxley jumped from his car and worked with him trying to pull open the door. The two men tried pulling Edlefsen, 69, out of the window, but he was held tightly to the seat by an older-style lap belt.

On an amateur video that caught the entire rescue, others can be seen rushing the scene to help the two men. One man can be seen trying to extinguish the flames, another was wielding a crowbar. After a few frightening moments, Sotello and Oxley manage to help drag Edlefsen from his car.

"My heart was just racing," said witness Patrick Murray, who watched the drama from his balcony. "My first response was that this wasn't something somebody could survive."

Edlefsen escaped with two cracked vertebrae, bruises and burns.

"If it wasn't for these guys I wouldn't have been here today," he told "Good Morning America."

"This is how people should act today and if they did, this would be a much better place."

No Charges for Women Who Caused Frightening Accident

The entire rescue took under 2 minutes, although it seemed like an eternity to those involved.

"These people were so quick to help the person, cars were stopping immediately, people were doing everything they could to get this guy out, and it was one effort after another," Murray said.

But Sotello and Oxley didn't initially want the credit for the rescue and came forward with the others only at the request of police. They are all expected to be honored by the Los Angeles Police Department.

"My family was raised like that, basically," Sotello said. "If somebody needs help, help them. If somebody needs to eat, feed them."

Police have decided not to charge the woman who rear-ended Edlefsen, calling it an accident, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Authorities are still searching for a few still-unidentified people who aided in his rescue.