Paramedic, bystander pull driver from burning Jeep

Seth Allison, 41, of Williamsport, was pulled to safety by two men who rushed to help him after his vehicle plowed into the front steps of the Castle Furniture and Bedding store at West Fourth and Cemetery streets in Williamsport about 8:45 p.m. Thursday.

"It was scary. A paramedic and I pulled him out. The vehicle was on fire, and there was gasoline leaking," said the 45-year-old man who was visiting a home next to the store. He declined to give his name.

An on-duty UPMC Williamsport paramedic getting his dinner at a nearby business heard the crash and rushed right over. He used a portable fire extinguisher in an attempt to put the fire out.

A group of people on a front porch saw it all happen.

"The Jeep (which was heading west) jumped the curb, nearly hit two poles and then went right into the steps. It sounded like a bomb," one witness said. She did not give her name.

"There was fire under the vehicle and in the engine compartment," she said.

City firemen responded and quickly put out the fire. Allison was loaded into an ambulance and taken to UPMC Williamsport, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. City police are leading the investigation into the crash.