Crime & Safety

Cop Honored After Saving Man From Burning SUV

The man who was saved was hit by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 55, who was identified as 28-year-old Erick Raul Mota-Benitez of Crystal Lake.

A Romeoville police officer is being honored for his role in saving a man by pulling him from a burning vehicle late last year.

Officer Woody Jones is slated to receive the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police "In the Line of Duty Heroism Award" during a ceremony on Friday, July 25, in Springfield.

Jones and two other men leapt into action after a wrong-way driver slammed into an SUV on southbound I-55 near Lemont Road. While the wrong-way driver, identified as 28-year-old Erick Raul Mota-Benitez of Crystal Lake, died, the three men were able to rescue the driver of the SUV.

On Dec. 2, 2013, Jones was in his squad car on his way to Loyola University Medical Center heading north when he spotted the driver of the wrong-way vehicle. He called for backup and sped around to the southbound lanes,according to the Chicago Tribune.

While they could not get to Mota-Benitez, Jones, along with retired Burbank cop Wayne Young and bystander Ernesto Irizarry, rushed to the aid of the driver of the SUV and pulled him from the burning vehicle.

"The fire got so big and hot, we were afraid it was going to explode," Jones told the Tribune. "The tires were popping.

Read more about the rescue here.

Jones will receive the award at the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police 27th Biennial Conference in Springfield.


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