It was just another day on the job for Goodyear Police Officer Dakota Berry, who was returning to the station after booking a suspect at a county jail in Phoenix.

At 4:23am on a weekend, the interstate from Goodyear to Phoenix is typically paved with 20 quiet, dark miles – but this time, Officer Berry drove into the sights, sounds, and smells of an unthinkable nightmare. 

Bright orange flames roared around a vehicle that had collided with another car just moments before. Officer Berry got out of his car, and could hear someone honking the horn and screaming. 

There was a young woman trapped inside. She was burning alive. 

Officer Berry sprinted back to his car to get a tool to break the driver’s side window. He pulled the young woman out of the window by her feet, and quickly put out the flames on her hair. 

Unbeknownst to Officer Berry, the young woman happened to be the daughter of a Goodyear Fire Captain. She was transported to the hospital immediately in critical condition, sustaining burns to about 30% of her body – but thanks to the courage and fast actions of Officer Berry, she survived. 

“I just simply was doing my job,” Officer Berry told reporters afterwards. “I have no doubt any other officers within this community and this department would have done the same thing.”

Police Chief Brian Issitt said, “There is no doubt in my mind that God placed Officer Berry in the right place at the right time to save a life. When that moment came, Dakota answered the call without hesitation.” 

Three others involved in the crash were treated at the hospital, along with Officer Berry. He burned his hands, literally throwing himself into the fire, but heroically saved four lives. That is public safety in action.