A man who was wronged by police risked his safety to save an officer from a burning car

A 31-year-old man from Pennsylvania may not think of himself as a hero, but to many, that’s what he is.

Daylan McLee was going about his day when he heard a crash outside his home in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. At first, he thought it was a small earthquake until a relative came in the house running to say there had been a crash involving a police cruiser.

McLee ran outside to where the accident had happened. At the scene, he saw an officer trapped in the police cruiser and knew he had to do something. He swung into action and pulled the officer out of the car before flames began to spread.

Fox29

“I don’t know what came across me,” he told 6ABC. “I ripped the door open and just pulled him to safety.”

Previous interaction with police

In 2016, Daylan received a call from his sister, who wanted to be picked up at a bar after a fight broke out. On arrival, he saw a strange-looking man holding a gun in the parking lot. Daylan quickly disarmed the man and threw the weapon away.

Instead of being thanked for saving the day, Daylan fled after one responding state police fired shots at him. He was later wrongfully arrested and spent a year in jail before he was acquitted.

This was not the only time the police mistreated Daylan. But still, that did not stop him from risking his life to save Officer Hanley out of his crashed patrol car.

Daylan and his 13-year-old son Avian | 6ABC

“There is value in every human life,” Daylan told 6ABC. “I can’t imagine just watching anyone burn.”

He continued: “No matter what other people have done to me, or other officers, I thought, ‘this guy deserves to make it home safely to his family.'”

As per reports, Hanley suffered a severe leg injury and underwent surgery at a hospital in West Virginia and is recovering. Thanks to Daylan’s swift response, that saved his life.

Despite saving a man’s life, Daylan doesn’t want to be called a hero.

“I don’t want to be called a hero,” He said. “I just want to be known as an individual who is an upstanding man.”

We are glad that Daylan McLee was able to save the life of Officer Hanley. Daylan might see himself as an ordinary man, but to us, he is a hero.

Please SHARE this story to honor Daylan’s act of courage.