Man Recognized For Rescuing Driver From Burning SUV
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The Minnesota State Patrol recognized an Air National Guardsman for risking his life to save another.
Robert Renning was awarded the Meritorious Citizenship Award for bending back the door frame of a burning SUV and pulling the driver, Michael Johannes, to safety.
"Like I told my family, I would have been planning my funeral if it wasn't for Bob," said Michael Johannes.
In June 2014, Michael Johannes pulled his SUV over on I-35W after smelling smoke.
Moments later, the vehicle was engulfed in flames with him locked inside.
"Thirty seconds [more and' I would have been done," Johannes said.
A driver shot cell phone footage that shows Renning springing into action.
"There wasn't much emotion involved at the time," Renning said. "It was just a matter of concentrating on getting the job done. The job was getting him out of the car."
Renning's fiancé sat in the car and watched as Renning disappeared into the smoke and flames.
"I was not scared," Asea Cole said. "I knew he would get the job done."
"There was definitely some adrenaline involved," Renning said. "There's part of it I still don't understand how I managed to do -- getting my fingers behind the door frame."
The veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars somehow managed to bend back the door frame until the window shattered, and he was able to pull Johannes to safety.
On Monday the state patrol presented Renning with the award for providing a significant service to the public.
Renning said he still doesn't know how he managed to bend steel with his bare hands.
"I don't think it was superhuman strength," he said. "It was just the heat of the moment."
What he does know is his military training and service prepared him for that moment when he walked into smoke and flames and came out a hero.
"Situational awareness is key," he said. "That's how I noticed the car, initially. That's how I knew shortly after we had stopped and pulled over that Mike was trapped."
Renning said he and Johannes have become good friends since the incident.
He said he is not a hero, just an average guy who did what anyone else would do to save a life.
