see also: in August 2007 News Releases:   Border Patrol Agents Seize Drugs at California Checkpoint   Palm Beach, Fla. Welcomes New Tool in Fighting Terror Weapons   Drug Seizure Activity at Border Ports Remains Brisk; El Paso CBP Nabs More Than 2 Tons of Pot   Yuma Border Agents Help Local Police Track 3 Fleeing Burglary Scene   CBP Officers at Laredo, Texas Entry Seize Almost $6 Million in Drugs in Two Seizures   Suspected Smuggling Lookouts Captured in Desert   1st Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Northwest Retires ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Indio, Calif. – An Indio, Calif. Border Patrol agent heroically rescued three individuals from a burning vehicle on Highway 86 early Saturday morning.

The agent was traveling north on Highway 86 from a Border Patrol checkpoint when he observed a station wagon style vehicle in the median of the highway that had apparently rolled over and was on fire. As the agent arrived at the scene, he encountered two female passengers that had found their way out the vehicle, yet were crying and motioning that more passengers were trapped in the vehicle.

The agent rushed over to the vehicle to find two female children, ages 7 and 11, and a male subject, age 66, trapped in the back seat, struggling to get out. The rear doors to the vehicle were jammed shut and would not open, so the agent had to enter the vehicle from the hatchback. The Border Patrol Agent was first able to reach and swiftly remove the children from the backseat. The man, however, was trapped beneath the seat and could not escape without assistance.

The agent, thinking quickly, utilized his collapsible steal baton and was able to pry the back seat to its original position, freeing the man. The agent then quickly dragged the injured man from the vehicle as the fire continued to spread into the interior. As the agent and occupants of the vehicle retreated to a safe distance, the entire vehicle became engulfed in flames.

The California Highway Patrol and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene. All five subjects from the vehicle were taken by ambulance to an area hospital.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.