Tulsa County Deputy Rescues Pregnant Woman, Twins From Highway Truck Blaze

A Tulsa County Deputy saved a pregnant woman and her two eleven-month-old twin babies from a burning truck on the side of Highway 75.

Deputy Ivan Patino said something just told him to stop and check on the woman.

Ivan was heading north on Highway 75 and saw the smoking truck on the side of the southbound lanes, so he turned around. He didn't realize there were two babies in the truck until the truck was already on fire.

"I didn't think I was going to make it because all that black smoke just went directly into my face, and I couldn't breathe at all," Ivan said.

Ivan noticed a smoking truck on Tuesday morning, so he stopped, and the driver, who was eight months pregnant, told Ivan she was having some radiator issues.

"The first thing she said is I'm sorry my tags are expired. I said, I'm not here for the tags, I don't care about the tags, I am here about you and your safety," said Ivan.

Then, part of the truck exploded. The woman told Ivan her two kids were still in it.

"As soon as we did, the whole car came on fire,” Ivan said. “There was a bunch of smoke inside the truck as well, so I grabbed one, she grabbed one, and we started heading back."

Ivan tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher, but the truck exploded again, knocking him back as he inhaled black smoke.

"I couldn't breathe. My chest locked up a lot," he said.

This kind of work is not what Ivan does every day. He does community policing, helping build relationships between law enforcement and the community.

Because he speaks Spanish, he built trust with the woman.

"When I was talking to her a lot more, I was talking to her in Spanish, and she eased a lot. She was a lot more comfortable," he said.

Even though patrolling isn't his day-to-day job, it turns out he was put there for a reason.

"My kids are like, where's your cape? But not all heroes wear capes. Like I said I am just here to do my job," Ivan said.