Bystanders rescue driver from burning car after single-vehicle crash in Ottawa

The Ottawa Paramedic Service says a 20-year-old man was seriously injured following a single-vehicle rollover on Riverside Drive Thursday afternoon. (Shaun Vardon/ CTV News Ottawa)

Two bystanders rescued the driver of a car that rolled over and caught fire near Mooney’s Bay last night, according to the Ottawa Fire Services.

Emergency crews responded to a single-vehicle crash on Riverside Drive, near the railroad tracks, just after 6:40 p.m. Thursday.

Ottawa Fire Services spokesperson Nick DeFazio says police reported a vehicle had flipped over and burst into flames, and the driver was still trapped inside.

“Firefighters arrived on scene three minutes after being dispatched to the call and confirmed the vehicle was on its roof and the engine compartment was on fire, but the lone occupant was pulled out by two bystanders,” DeFazio said in a statement on X.

“Firefighters used specialized tools to remove the passenger doors to access and extinguish the fire in the dashboard area.”

The driver told firefighters he was the only occupant of the vehicle.

Firefighters spread absorbent to contain leaking fuel at the scene of the crash.

A photo from CTV News Ottawa’s Shaun Vardon showed the badly damaged vehicle on its roof on the sidewalk next to the road.

The Ottawa Paramedic Service said the driver was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Paramedics identified the driver as a 20-year-old man, but police said the driver was a 17-year-old and was treated for injuries.

An Ottawa Police Service spokesperson told CTV News Ottawa Friday morning that no charges were laid in connection to the crash.

Riverside Drive was closed between Walkley Road and Hunt Club Road while police investigated. The road was reopened last night.