FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - Two Fayetteville police officers pulled a drunk and unconscious man from a burning car on Tuesday (Oct. 28).
The man inside the car was identified by police as Timothy Marrs, 24, of Fayetteville. He faces misdemeanor charges of DWI, violation of implied consent and resisting arrest.
Police said they responded to a report of a car on fire on Tuesday at 2:25 a.m. near Sierra Avenue and Adobe Street in Fayetteville.
According to an arrest report, an officer, later identified as Nathan Hogan, used an extinguisher to try to put out the fire, but it had little effect. After using the extinguisher, the officer saw that the vehicle's taillights were dimly lit and saw a person sitting in the front seat, the report states.
The officer opened the driver's door and dragged the man out of the vehicle and away from the fire, according to the report. While dragging Marrs out, the officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol, the report states.
Tim Marrs, Timothy Marrs' father, said the officer is a hero for rescuing his son.
"I'm so grateful he responded as quickly as he did and then reacted as quickly as he did otherwise my son would not be here," he said.
In an interview with 5NEWS, Marrs read a letter from his son. It mentioned how sorry he was about what happened. "I'm very grateful for the police officer who saved my life," the letter states. "I was just very upset that my car that meant so much to me caught on fire, and the tragedy of everything going on."
Records show this was Marr's second DWI arrest in the last five years.
He has a court date scheduled for Dec. 5.