The accident is under investigation.
"Clearly this tragedy would have been compounded were it not for the actions of the Petty Officer and police officer," Anne Arundel Fire Chief Robert Ray said. "The Coast Guard motto 'Semper Paratus' was demonstrated in the clearest terms today by an individual who placed himself in extreme danger to save a life."
A Coast Guard officer is being credited with saving a 5 year old from a burning car Wednesday morning. The little girl's mother was killed in the collision and resulting fire. According to police, a car ran into the back of another vehicle, starting a chain reaction that involved a total of three cars and a truck in the Baltimore section of Anne Arundel County.
As witnesses looked on, one of the cars and a truck caught fire. That's when fire officials say Coast Guard Petty Officer Lavelas Luckey ran past other onlookers and pulled the child from the burning car, while a police officer worked to free her mother. The child is hospitalized in serious condition; Her mother did not survive.
