Navy Sailor jumps into action, helps rescue man from burning car in Woodfield mall parking garage

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Navy Sailor speaks out after helping rescue man from burning car

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WLS) -- ABC7 spoke to a Navy Sailor who was one of the people who jumped into action when a car caught fire at Woodfield mall over the weekend.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Schaumburg police told ABC News they responded to a report of a car fire around 2:20 p.m. on the upper level of the parking garage on Saturday

A driver had suffered a medical emergency before their car caught on fire.

Video obtained by ABC7 shows how a bystander helped pull the driver from their car. The driver was later taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

Now, we are learning that one of the Good Samaritans who helped was Navy Sailor William Thompson.

Thompson told ABC7 he recently finished bootcamp.

"Instantly, its like my body moving on itself," he said. "Its like everything the navy taught me, just instantly erupted inside of me."

Thompson said he had some injuries from breaking the car window.

He also attributed to the other people who helped pulled the driver from the vehicle.

Schaumburg police say that driver suffered a medical emergency and went to the hospital.

Four other vehicles were damaged due to the car fire, Schaumburg police said.

Emergency crews appeared to respond to a large car fire Saturday at a parking structure near the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, video showed.

ABC News contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.