Forney, Texas – A Plano man who was saved from a burning car just seconds before it was engulfed in flames has been indicted by a grand jury in Kaufman County for driving while intoxicated 3rd or more which which may have contributed to the accident.
Forney, Texas – A Plano man who was saved from a burning car just seconds before it was engulfed in flames has been indicted by a grand jury in Kaufman County for driving while intoxicated 3rd or more which which may have contributed to the accident.
The grand jury indicted Adil Nooruddin Jassani for the high-speed accident which occurred along Farm-to-Market (FM) 460 in Forney, Texas, near FM 740 in the early morning hours of May 9, 2013. The vehicle, a 2003 Mercedes, was hardly recognizable after striking a tree, according to first responders.
Three young men have been recognized for putting their own lives in danger to save Jassani from the burning car. On August 20, 2013, C.J. Howland, Steve Glasscock, and Daniel Horn were recognized at the Forney City Council meeting with Meritorious Service Awards from the Forney Police Department for the acts of heroism and also received certificates from Texas State Governor Rick Perry.
The three young men, all Rockwall High School graduates, drove upon the scene of the accident at approximately 2:00 a.m. A driver who stopped at the scene before them said they believed the driver was already dead when they heard a groan come from the car. “We just did what we had to do that night to help the gentlemen out and get him away from the [vehicle] fire,” Howland told inForney.com in a phone interview.
The men used a box-cutter knife to free Jassani from his seatbelt and struggled to open the door, “but luckily we did,” said Howland. Just three minutes after the initial 911 call to police and seconds after extricating Jassani, the vehicle was completely engulfed in flames.
Jassani was transported to Baylor University Medical Hospital in Dallas, Texas, in critical condition. Four days after the accident, a Baylor spokesperson told inForney.com Jassani was still in critical condition. A family member told inForney.com Jassani was in ICU for two months and underwent rehab for four months before returning home. The family member also expressed gratitude to Howland, Glasscock, and Horn for saving Jassani and described them as “three brave men.”
At the time of the accident, investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety believed alcohol to be a leading factor in the accident but were awaiting the results of a blood draw. Jassani has prior DWI convictions in 2005 and 2009 in the Dallas area.