A North County mail carrier is being called a hero after he pulled two people from their burning car after a serious accident.
Chris Aaaron and girlfriend Angelique Arenas were turning left onto last October when a pickup trucks with two teens and a 10-year-old inside hit them at nearly 50 mph.
Angelique suffered the worst injuries, but she says she survived thanks to a fast-acting postal carrier delivering mail in the neighborhood.
The impact caved in the passenger side of Chris and Angelique's Volkswagen, then sparked a fire that charred the whole car. Chris was dazed and Angelique was unconscious. Neither remembers much.
"It just came out of nowhere. He was just going so fast we didn't even see him,” Angelique said.
It was sometime later the couple was told, a postal carrier, who wished not to be identified, came to their rescue. He cut them both out of their seatbelts and pulled the couple from their burning car.
"I will never be able to repay him. He saved my life definitely."
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Arenas broke ribs on her right side and fractured her neck and pelvis. She suffered brain swelling and burns. Chris had cracked ribs.
"He actually put himself in danger just to save me,” Angelique said. “Sorry, I am going to get emotional right now. That's just so crazy."
Three months later, Angelique still has hip pain at times and wears a neck brace for support. It could take another 9 months before she’s fully recovered, but whether 9 months or 9 years, she has a new appreciation for her future.
"It just makes me feel so good to be here to be alive on this earth,” she said.
Angelique recently reached out on social media to thank the postal carrier and as a result, managed to get his name and number. They are making plans to reunite sometime next week.
Angelique, just 19 years old, says the accident has inspired her to go back to school and become a doctor.
