Burned motorist brought to Erlanger after car fire on I-75

A motorist remains hospitalized at Erlanger hospital after his car caught fire Sunday morning on Interstate 75 in Gordon County.

Dan Gloth, 56, of Cartersville, Ga., was flown to Erlanger after deputies pulled him from his burning 1996 Buick Regal, the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

Authorities did not know the cause of the fire Sunday, and the investigation is ongoing.

Deputies were dispatched at 5:15 a.m. and arrived within three minutes. The care was on the southbound side near exit 317, the release stated. The car was “engulfed in flames,” it says.

Someone was already attempting to help when officers arrived, but that person couldn’t open the car door, the release stated.

While one deputy used fire extinguishers on the fire, two others forced the passenger door open and dragged Gloth out of the smoke-filled car, police said.

After Gloth was free, the car “repeatedly burst into flames,” the release says.

“These men are outstanding examples of public servants who care about our community and do not hesitate to place their own lives in jeopardy to save the life of another person,” Sheriff Mitch Ralston said in the release. “They are a credit to the Sheriff's Office, to this community and to their families. I am very proud of them.”