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Teenager saves boy from fiery I-84 crash

05:24 PM MDT on Saturday, April 12, 2008

Mike Perry/KTVB

Mike Perry/KTVB

Witnesses were able to pull a baby from this vehicle as it caught fire.

CALDWELL - A Caldwell teenager is credited with saving a young boy from a fiery crash on Interstate 84 last night.

Police say 27-year-old Villa G. Celedonia of Caldwell died in the rollover accident near Caldwell. She is the aunt of the boy in the vehicle.

Idaho State Police say Celedonia was driving eastbound in a green Chevy Blazer near Franklin Road around 9:30 p.m. when she lost control and went into the median, causing the vehicle to rollover several times before stopping in the westbound lanes.

Teen: “I just had to get him out of there”

ISP spokesman Rick Ohnsman says 17-year-old Brooke Garcia was following the vehicle when the accident happened. She ran over to the SUV and pulled the 3-year-old boy from the vehicle as it began to catch fire. Celedonia was ejected from her vehicle and died at the scene. The boy was safely secured in a child safety seat.

Ohnsman says if it were not for Garcia, the boy would have likely died in the fire.

Investigators believe speeding and alcohol were factors in this accident.

Paramedics rushed the boy to West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell where he was treated and released for minor injuries

No other vehicles were involved in the accident.

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