By Evan McKenna
The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.)
BLUFFTON, S.C. — The tower of flames leapt from the car’s wreckage, disrupting the early-morning darkness on May River Road with a harsh glow. A passenger was trapped inside, and only seconds remained before the vehicle would be swallowed in fire.
Two local policemen — one Bluffton officer and one Beaufort County sheriff’s deputy — received high honors last week for their quick, life-saving response to the Sept. 22 incident. Working together, the two officers showed no hesitation in removing a passenger from the burning car before it was completely engulfed in flames.
Officer Azahel Young, 27, who has served with the Bluffton Police Department for a year, received the agency’s first ever Medal of Valor Award. It’s the highest honor given by the department and is reserved for officers “who risk their own life to help save that of another,” according to Chief of Police Joe Babkiewicz.
Also accepting recognition was staff Sgt. Brian Kaase, 41, a nine-year veteran of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. He received the department’s Life Saving Award at the same ceremony Wednesday. The honor is handed out multiple times per year, primarily for medical calls, but in this case it was used to commend a heroic rescue that could have taken the sergeant’s own life.
A police report says the sedan caught fire after striking a tree near the intersection of S.C. 46 and Brown’s Bluff Lane around 1:40 a.m. Sept 22. The driver exited the vehicle, leaving the passenger stuck inside, according to sheriff’s office spokesperson Master Sgt. Daniel Allen.
Dashcam video from a Bluffton police cruiser shows officer Young approaching the burning car with a crowbar in hand, forcing open the front passenger door with the help of a bystander. Sgt. Kaase then arrived with a fire extinguisher, fending off the flames to allow Young to unbuckle the passenger and drag him to safety.
Moments later, the blaze engulfed the vehicle. Smoke and flames were seen streaming out of the backseat window.
The passenger was taken to a local hospital with non-fatal injuries, according to Allen.
“I’m very thankful that we were in the right place at the right time,” Kaase said. He served a decade in the military police of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps before joining the sheriff’s office in 2015, where he was named officer of the year 2019.
Young said he thanked god for “looking out for everybody in that vehicle” as well as himself, Kaase and other first responders on the scene. Also the recipient of a life-saving award for a medical call last year, the rookie officer is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in fall 2023.
“Officer Young is a tremendous asset to our department and our community,” said Babkiewicz, adding that the Bluffton police force has an “amazing group” of first-year officers that he is excited to lead.
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