The Region : 3 Credited With Saving Crash Victims

Three motorists were credited with saving the lives of two people trapped in their wrecked and burning car on Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades area. One rescuer, Ron Otis, 18, of Los Angeles, said he and his girlfriend were parked on Pacific Coast Highway near Chautauqua Boulevard when he saw two cars racing southward. One car hit the raised center divider, crashed into a metal utility pole and caught fire. Otis and an unidentified motorist rescued a woman passenger from the wreckage. A third motorist, Jeff Buteyn, 23, who also had stopped, used his fist to break open the window on the driver’s side and pulled out the unconscious driver before the wreckage was fully engulfed in flames. The two injured people were taken to UCLA Medical Center, where officials declined to identify them or to describe their injuries until their relatives could be notified.